NONEQUILIBRIUM CARRIER RECOMBINATION CHANNELS IN UNIAXIALLY STRESSED GAPLESS SEMICONDUCTORS

Nonequilibrium carrier interband recombination channels such as radiative recombination, transitions with optical phonon emission, and Auger recombination are studied in uniaxially compressed gapless semiconductors. Energy ranges for radiative and phonon recombination are determined. The recombination process with phonon emission, the most efficient at low pressures, is dramatically suppressed when the gap becomes wider then the optical phonon energy. Energy threshold dependences are discussed for the cc --> cv Auger process (the recombination energy is carried by a free electron) and for the cv --> vv process (the energy is carried by a free hole). Temperature and concentration dependences of the recombination rates for these channels are obtained.