Modifying electron-phonon scattering rates in semiconductor quantum wells with thin AlAs layers

We have studied theoretically the electron-phonon scattering rates in GaAs/AlAs quantum wells which have additional thin AlAs layers in them using the dielectric continuum approach for the phonons. The confined and interface phonon modes and the intersubband electron phonon scattering rates of these structures have been calculated. The system with an additional AlAs layer is found to have intersubband electron scattering rates which are increased modestly as compared to those for the corresponding quantum well. These results show that scattering rates in general are expected to depend only weakly on the effects of system structure on the optical phonon spectra.     

Phonon effect on binding energies of impurity states in cylindrical quantum wires of polar semiconductors under an electric field

Phonon effect on hydrogenic impurity states in cylindrical quantum wires of polar semiconductors under an applied electric field is studied theoretically by a variational approach. The binding energies are calculated as functions of the transverse dimension of the quantum wire, and the donor-impurity position under different fields. The electron–phonon interaction is considered in the calculations by taking both the confined bulk longitudinal optical phonons and interface optical phonons as well as the impurity-ion–phonon coupling. The numerical results for the CdTe and GaAs quantum wires are given and discussed as examples. It is confirmed that the electron–phonon interaction obviously reduces both the binding energy and the Stark energy-shift of the bound polarons in quantum wires.     

Transient magnetoresponse of photoexcited electrons: Negative cyclotron absorption and evolution of Faraday angle

The transient magnetooptical response of electrons with partly inverted initial distribution produced by an ultrashort optical pulse near the optical phonon energy is studied theoretically. Transient cyclotron absorption and Faraday rotation of polarization plane are considered for bulk semiconductors (GaAs, InAs, and InSb) as well as for a GaAs-based quantum well. Damping of the response due to electron momentum relaxation associated with elastic scattering from acoustic phonons is taken into account in calculations, as well as the evolution of the electron distribution due to quasi-elastic energy relaxation at acoustic phonons and effective inelastic transitions accompanied by spontaneous emission of optical phonons. Nonstationary negative absorption in the cyclotron resonance conditions and peculiarities of Faraday rotation of the polarization plane associated with partial inversion of the initial distribution are considered. The possibility of transient enhancement of the probe field under cyclotron resonance conditions is indicated.     

Scattering of electrons in the GaAs/AlAs transistor structure

This paper reports on the results of a self-consistent calculation of the rates of electron scattering from surface roughnesses, acoustic phonons, and polar optical phonons in a transistor structure based on a GaAs quantum wire in an AlAs matrix at temperatures T = 77 and 300 K. The rates of electron scattering are calculated in the electric-quantum limit approximation with due regard for both the collisional broadening of the electron energy spectrum and the Pauli principle. The influence of the gate voltage on these rates is investigated. The wave function of electrons and the energy level of their quantum ground state are determined by the self-consistent solution of the Poisson and Schrödinger equations.     

Influence of phonon confinement on the optically detected magneto-phonon resonance line-width in quantum wells

We investigate the influence of phonon confinement on the optically detected magneto-phonon resonance (ODMPR) effect and ODMPR line-width in quantum wells. The ODMPR conditions as functions of the well's width and the photon energy are also obtained. The shifts of ODMPR peaks caused by the confined phonon are discussed. The numerical result for the GaAs/AlAs quantum well shows that in the two cases of confined and bulk phonons, the line-width (LW) decreases with increasing well's width and increases with increasing temperature. Furthermore, in the small range of the well's width, the influence of phonon confinement plays an important role and cannot be neglected in reaching the ODMPR line-width.     

Exciton-phonon interaction in cylindrical semiconductor quantum dots

The exciton-longitudinal optical phonon interaction is theoretically investigated for the case of polar semiconductor cylindrical quantum dots embedded in semiconductor matrix. The theory is developed within the dielectric continuum model considering the Fröhlich interaction between electrons and confined bulk longitudinal optical phonons for a configurational interaction model of quantum dot. Representative longitudinal optical phonon mode for the exciton-phonon interaction is predicted for cylindrical InAs/GaAs quantum dots.     

Resonant magnetopolaron effects in GaAs/AlGaAs multiple quantum well structures

A detailed experimental study of electron cyclotron resonance (CR) has been carried out at 4.2 K in three modulation-doped GaAs/Al_0.3Ga_0.7As multiple quantum well samples in fields up to 30 T. A strong avoided-level-crossing splitting of the CR energies due to resonant magnetopolaron effects is observed for all samples near the GaAs reststrahlen region. Resonant splittings in the region of AlAs-like interface phonon modes of the barriers are observed in two samples with narrower well width and smaller doping concentration. The interaction between electrons and the AlAs interface optical phonon modes has been calculated for our specific sample structures in the framework of the memory-function formalism. The calculated results are in good agreement with the experimental results, which confirms our assignment of the observed splitting near the AlAs-like phonon region is due to the resonant magnetopolaron interaction of electrons in the wells with AlAs-like interface phonons.     

Acoustic phonon emission from a weakly coupled superlattice under vertical electron transport: observation of phonon resonance

We report measurements of acoustic phonon emission from a weakly coupled AlAs/GaAs superlattice (SL) under vertical electron transport. The phonons were detected using superconducting bolometers. A peak (resonance) was observed in emission parallel to the SL growth axis when the electrical energy drop per SL period matched the energy of the first SL mini-Brillouin zone-center phonon mode. This peak was mirrored by an increase of the differential conductance of the SL. These results are evidence for stimulated emission of terahertz phonons as previously predicted theoretically and suggest that such a SL may form the basis of a SASER (sound amplification by stimulated emission of radiation) device.     

Polaronic shift of the Wannier-Mott exciton binding energy in a quantum wire with allowance for the phonon confinement effect

Within the framework of the Li-Low-Pines model the interaction of a Wannier-Mott exciton with polar optical phonons in a cylindrical semiconductor wire is studied, taking into account the phonon confinement effect. An analytical expression for the exciton binding energy with allowance for the polaronic effect is obtained. Numerical calculations of the binding energy are carried out for AlAs/GaAs/AlAs and ZnSe/CdSe/ZnSe wires with a various degree of polarity of quantum wire materials. The polaronic shift of the binding energy of light and heavy hole excitons is calculated.     

Resonant Raman scattering in nanostructures with InGaAs/AlAs quantum dots

Raman scattering by optical phonons in In_xGa_{1 ? x} As/AlAs nanostructures with quantum dots has been studied experimentally for compositions corresponding to x = 0.3?1 under out-resonance conditions. Features due to scattering by GaAs-and InAs-like optical phonons in quantum dots have been detected, and the phonon frequencies have been determined as a function of the dot composition. With increasing excitation energy, a red shift is observed in the frequency of the GaAs-like phonon in quantum dots, which testifies to Raman scattering selective by the size of quantum dots. Under resonant conditions, multiphonon light scattering by optical and interface phonons is observed up to the third order, including overtones of the first-order phonons of InGaAs and AlAs materials and their combinations.     

Study of electron-phonon interaction in quantum wells using optically excited nonequilibrium population of phonons

It is well known that nonequilibrium populations of phonons can be generated in bulk semiconductors by the relaxation of photoexcited hot electrons. In this paper we demonstrate that nonequilibrium phonons can also be generated in quantum wells by picosecond lasers and then probed by time-resolved Raman scattering. Using this method we have studied the interaction between hot electrons and interface and confined LO phonons in GaAs/AlAs quantum wells for well widths varying between 2 to 6 nm. The results are compared quantitatively with three macroscopic models of electron-LO phonon interaction. Only the model proposed by Huang and Zhu agrees both qualitatively and quantitatively with experimental results.     

Intersubband relaxation of hot carriers in quantum well systems

We use an ensemble Monte Carlo simulation of coupled electrons, holes and nonequilibrium polar optical phonons in multiple quantum well systems to model the intersubband relaxation of hot carriers measured in ultra-fast optical experiments. We have investigated the effect of various models of confined photon modes on the energy relaxation and intersubband transition rate in single quantum well and coupled well systems. In particular, the symmetry of the atomic displacement with respect to the quantum well has a marked effect on the relative intersubband versus intrasubband scattering rates, depending on whether one considers electrostatic boundary conditions(slab modes) or mechanical boundary conditions(guided modes). In single quantum wells systems, the overall intersubband relaxation time is not found to be strongly dependent on the confined mode model used due to competing effects of hot phonons and the relative intrasubband scattering rates. For coupled well systems, the relaxation rate is much more dependent on the exact nature of the phonon amplitude. Large effects are found associated with localized AlAs interface modes which dominate the intersubband relaxation time.     

Heating and cooling of a two-dimensional electron gas by terahertz radiation

The absorption of terahertz radiation by free charge carriers in n-type semiconductor quantum wells accompanied by the interaction of electrons with acoustic and optical phonons is studied. It is shown that intrasubband optical transitions can cause both heating and cooling of the electron gas. The cooling of charge carriers occurs in a certain temperature and radiation frequency region where light is most efficiently absorbed due to intrasubband transitions with emission of optical phonons. In GaAs quantum wells, the optical cooling of electrons occurs most efficiently at liquid nitrogen temperatures, while cooling is possible even at room temperature in GaN heterostructures.     

极化子效应对量子盘中线性和非线性光吸收系数的影响

利用密度矩阵的方法,得出了考虑极化子效应的量子盘的线性和非线性光吸收系数的解析表达式,并以GaAs为例讨论了光吸收系数与不同的入射光子能量和量子盘的厚度之间的关系.结果表明,极化子效应对吸收系数有相当的影响 关键词： 量子盘 光学吸收系数 极化子效应     

极化子效应对核壳量子点中光学克尔效应的影响

在有效质量近似下利用量子力学的密度矩阵理论,采用无限深势阱模型解三维薛定谔方程得到电子的本征能量和波函数.从理论上计算了考虑极化子效应后,在导带子带间跃迁时ZnS/CdSe柱型核壳结构量子点光学克尔效应的三阶极化率.通过数值计算,分析了电子-LO声子和电子-IO声子相互作用对ZnS/CdSe柱型核壳结构量子点光学克尔效应的三阶极化率的影响.结果表明：极化子效应对光学克尔效应的三阶极化率 有很大影响,并且影响的大小与量子点的尺寸大小有关.       

Long polaron lifetime in InAs/GaAs self-assembled quantum dots

We have investigated the polaron dynamics in n-doped InAs/GaAs self-assembled quantum dots by pump-probe midinfrared spectroscopy. A long T1 polaron decay time is measured at both low temperature and room temperature, with values around 70 and 37 ps, respectively. The decay time decreases for energies closer to the optical phonon energy. The relaxation is explained by the strong coupling for the electron-phonon interaction and by the finite lifetime of the optical phonons. We show that, even for a large detuning of 19 meV from the LO photon energy in GaAs, the carrier relaxation remains phonon assisted.     

Uniform Descriptions of Electron-IO Phonon Interaction in Structures of Multi-layer Coupling Low-dimensional Systems

By using the transfer matrix method, within the framework of the dielectric continuum approximation, uniform forms for the interface optical (IO) phonon modes as well as the corresponding electron-IO phonon interaction Hamiltonians in n-layer coupling low-dimensional systems (including the coupling quantum well (CQW), coupling quantum-well wire (CQWW), and coupling quantum dot (CQD)) have been presented. Numerical calculations on the three-layer asymmetrical AlGaAs/GaAs systems are performed, and the analogous characteristics for limited frequencies of IO phonon in the three types of systems (CQW, CQWW, and CQD) when the wave-vector and the quantum number approach zero or infinity are analyzed and specified.     

Phonon-assisted normal incidence intersubband absorption in semiconductor quantum wells

In the presence of a normally incident mid-IR pulsed laser field, phonon-assisted photon absorption by both intrasubband and intersubband phonon scattering of conduction electrons in GaAs/AlGaAs quantum wells are predicted. The novel non-resonant and non-linear intersubband absorption is found by including the photon-induced phonon scattering process in a Boltzmann equation for phonon energies smaller than the energy separation between two electron subbands in the quantum well. The predicted phonon-assisted photon absorption by intersubband transitions of electrons from the first to the second subband is a unique feature in quantum-well systems and is expected to have a significant effect on the electron populations in both subbands.     

Electron self-energy and effective mass in a single heterostructure

In this paper, we investigate the electron self-energy and effective mass in a single heterostructure using Greenfunction method. Numerical calculations of the electron self-energy and effective mass for GaAs/A1As heterostructure are performed. The results show that the self-energy (effective mass) of electrons, which incorporate the energy of electron coupling to interface-optical phonons and half of the three-dimensional longitudinal optical phonons, increase (decrease) monotonically from that of interface polaron to that of the 3D bulk polaron with increasing the distance between the positions of the electron and interface.     

Anomalous LO phonon lifetime in AlAs

The temperature dependence of the frequencies and linewidths of the Raman-active longitudinal optical (LO) phonons in GaAs and AlAs have been measured. The low-temperature lifetime of the LO phonon in AlAs is found to be 9.7 ps, very close to the corresponding GaAs value of 9.5 ps. This contradicts early theoretical predictions. The agreement between theory and experiment can be restored when the accidental degeneracy between the AlAs LO phonon frequency and a feature in the two-phonon density of states is taken into account.