One-phonon ionization of donors in germanium by intervalley scattering: Phonon spectroscopy with superconducting aluminum junctions at Debye frequencies

One-phonon ionization of donors in germanium via intervalley scattering by slow TA phonons at the X point of the Brillouin zone is demonstrated by the stress dependence of phonoconductivity. Superconducting aluminum junctions are used as tunable quasimonochromatic phonon sources up to these extreme frequencies. The ionization probability is found to be increased when donor levels associated with stress-shifted higher valleys of the conduction band cross the lowest valley(s).