Electron temperature and cooling of 2D hot electron gas in deep quantum wells

The non-equilibrium kinetics of the two-dimensional electron gas in a deep quantum well is studied for qualitatively different physical situations, which are distinguished by the different strength of the electron-electron interaction. The electron temperature and the electron mobility dependences on the electric field, electron density, and the lattice temperature are presented. It is shown that at high electron density the electron temperature is a non-monotonous function of the electric field, which has a segment where the electron temperature decreases with increasing electric field. We also predict a new physical effect - the absolute cooling of the electrons whereby the electron temperature of the two-dimensional electron gas is lower than the lattice temperature. (C) 1999 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.