Impact ionization in nonuniformly heated silicon $p^{+}$–$n$–$n^{+}$- and $n^{+}$–$p$–$p^{+}$ structures

Experimental results on the effects of changes in the impact-ionization current in silicon diffusion $p^{+}$–$n$–$n^{+}$- and $n^{+}$–$p$–$p^{+}$ structures upon nonuniform heating are presented. It is shown that the revealed effects are associated with the transformation of band energy levels caused by thermoelastic stresses of the structures.