Stochastic properties of a hot electron gas in a semiconductor from first-principles

Recent advances in ab-initio methods have enabled the routine calculation of the electronic transport properties of crystals. Analogous calculations of stochastic properties, such as the spectral noise power of an electron gas driven by an electric field, have not yet been reported despite their importance in setting fundamental detection limits of microwave electronics. Here, we report an ab-initio treatment of the noise of a driven electron gas using a Boltzmann-Green’s function approach. Our approach combines electronic structure and scattering rates from first-principles with a numerically exact solution of the Boltzmann equation, providing a parameter-free description of stochastic transport processes in a semiconductor. The insights derived our ab-initio approach will facilitate the realization of semiconductor devices operating near the quantum noise limit.