Band‐to‐band Auger recombination inn+‐type silicon is investigated. A new experimental approach for determining the band‐to‐band Auger coefficient that is based on the hot electrons generated in the recombination process is proposed and theoretically analyzed. Because this method is not sensitive to trap‐assisted Auger recombination, or other types of recombination, it can yield information regarding the fundamental lifetime limits in heavily doped silicon. Experimental results are presented in a companion paper, Part II.