Motion of current filaments in avalanching PIN diodes
雪崩PIN二极管中的电流丝运动

The motion of current filaments in avalanching PIN diodes has been investigated in this paper by 2D transient numerical simulations. The simulation results show that the filament can move along the length of the PIN diode back and forth when the self-heating effect is considered. The voltage waveform varies periodically due to the motion of the filament. The filament motion is driven by the temperature gradient in the filament due to the negative temperature dependence of the impact ionization rates. Contrary to the traditional understanding that current filamentation is a potential cause of thermal destruction, it is shown in this paper that the thermally-driven motion of current filaments leads to the homogenization of temperature in the diode and is expected to have a positive influence on the failure threshold of the PIN diode.