Effect of the external electric field on the kinetics of recombination of photoexcited carriers in a ZnSe/BeTe type II heterostructure

The kinetics of the radiative recombination of photoexcited electrons and holes for a spatially direct transition in a ZnSe/BeTe type II heterostructure in an external electric field has been analyzed. A strong decrease (more than two orders of magnitude) in the photoluminescence intensity, as well as a decrease in the duration of the relaxation of the direct transition, is observed when the electric field is applied. The energy levels and wavefunctions of electrons and holes in the ZnSe/BeTe heterostructure subjected to the electric field have been numerically calculated. It has been shown that the observed decrease in the photoluminescence intensity and duration of the relaxation of the direct transition is due to both an increase in the radiative recombination time and an increase in the rate of escape of photoexcited holes from the above-barrier level in the ZnSe layer to the BeTe layer.     

GaAs/AlGaAs超晶格的光致发光

在室温下测量了GaAs/A l0.3Ga0.7As超晶格的光致发光,发现在波长λ=761 nm处存在一较强的发光光峰,此发光峰目前尚未见报道。经理论分析表明,此峰是量子阱中的第一激发态电子与受主空穴复合发光。实验还观测到在λ=786 nm处,λ=798 nm处和λ=824 nm处分别存在一发光峰,分析表明λ=786 nm处的发光峰为量子阱阱中费米能级附近的电子与轻空穴复合发光;λ=798 nm处的发光峰为量子阱内的基态电子到轻空穴的复合发光;λ=824 nm处的发光峰为阱中激子复合复合发光。理论计算与实验结果符合的很好。     

Mechanoluminescence and high pressure photoluminescence of (Zn,Cd) S phosphors

The mechanoluminescence spectra of (Zn, Cd)S phosphors shift towards shorter wavelength side as compared to the photoluminescence spectra, however, the photoluminescence spectra shift towards shorter wavelength side with increasing pressure with less pressure coefficient. This finding eliminates the thermal population mechanism and suggests the electrical excitation mechanism for the mechanoluminescence excitation. The decay of mechanoluminescence after the deformation (Zn, Cd)S phosphors may be controlled by the recombination rate of holes and electrons, i.e. by the finite times required for the liberation of the electrons from the traps and for the electron transport, and consequently the decay of mechanoluminescence may be similar to the decay of photoluminescence.     

Full configuration interaction studies of phonon and photon transition rates in semiconductor quantum dots

Quantum chemical methods originally developed for studying atomic and molecular systems can be applied successfully to the study of few-body electron-hole systems in semiconductor nanostructures. A new computational approach is presented for studying the energetics and dynamics of interacting electrons and holes in a semiconductor quantum dot. The electron-hole system is described by a two-band effective mass Hamiltonian. The Hamiltonian is diagonalized in a configuration state function basis constructed as antisymmetric products of the electron one-particle functions and antisymmetric products of the hole one-particle functions. The symmetry adapted basis set used for the expansion of the one-particle functions consists of anisotropic Gaussian basis functions. The transition probability between electron-hole states consisting of different numbers of carrier pairs is calculated at the full configuration interaction level. The results show that the electron-hole correlation affects the radiative recombination rates significantly. A method for calculating the phonon relaxation rates between excited states and the ground state of quantum dots is described. The phonon relaxation calculations show that the relaxation rate is strongly dependent on the energy level spacings between the states.     

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.     

Optical spin injection and spin lifetime in Ge heterostructures

We demonstrate optical orientation in Ge/SiGe quantum wells and study their spin properties. The ultrafast electron transfer from the center of the Brillouin zone to its edge allows us to achieve high spin polarizations and to resolve the spin dynamics of holes and electrons. The circular polarization degree of the direct gap photoluminescence exceeds the theoretical bulk limit, yielding ～37% and ～85% for transitions with heavy and light holes states, respectively. The spin lifetime of holes at the top of the valence band is estimated to be ～0.5 ps and it is governed by transitions between light and heavy hole states. Electrons at the bottom of the conduction band, on the other hand, have a spin lifetime that exceeds 5?ns below 150?K. Theoretical analysis of the spin relaxation indicates that phonon-induced intervalley scattering dictates the spin lifetime of electrons.     

用光致荧光研究多碱阴极光电发射机理

本文介绍了多碱光电阴极的特点及其在微光像增强器中的应用,叙述了光致荧光的原理,探索了利用光致荧光方法来研究多碱阴极Na₂KSb膜层电子跃迁几率的方法,并测量了两个不同灵敏度多碱阴极的荧光谱及同一个多碱阴极在工作和非工作两种状态下的荧光谱.测试结果表明,多碱阴极的荧光强度与其电子跃迁的几率及阴极灵敏度成正比,同时多碱阴极在工作状态下,荧光强度比非工作状态下有所降低,原因是一部分跃迁电子逸出多碱阴极产生光电发射,而这部分电子不再回到基态,因此不再发出荧光.另外本文还测量了多碱阴极在不同波长激光激发条件下的荧光谱.结果表明,长波激发与短波激发相比,长波激发所获得的荧光强度更高,这说明长波激发产生跃迁电子的几率高,同时荧光谱峰值波长与激光波长的偏移较小,因此跃迁电子数多且能量损失小,有利于光电发射.将多碱阴极的荧光谱与多碱阴极的量子效率相比较,看出跃迁电子数量和所处能级这两个对光电发射过程有影响的关键因素中,能级因素对光电发射过程的影响更大.但对多碱阴极而言,由于短波激发时的电子跃迁几率低于长波激发时的电子跃迁几率,跃迁电子扩散过程中的能量损失较大,因此短波的量子效率随波长的增加而增加.实践证明,光致荧光是研究多碱阴极光电发射过程的一种有效手段,通过对多碱阴极荧光谱的研究,进一步揭示了多碱阴极的光电发射的机理,为进一步改进工艺和提高多碱阴极的灵敏度提供了重要的参考价值.     

Magneto-optics of strongly correlated two-dimensional electrons in single heterojunctions

Investigations of two-dimensional (2D) electron systems in semiconductors subjected to a strong perpendicular magnetic field with the use of photoluminescence are reviewed. The foundation of the optical spectroscopy method using the radiative recombination of 2D electrons with photoexcited holes bound to acceptors in a δ-doped monolayer in GaAs/Al _x Ga_1-x As single heterojunctions is presented. Optical spectroscopy studies of the energy spectra of 2D electrons imposed on transverse magnetic fields in the regimes of the integer and fractional quantum Hall effects are discussed. The relationship between the mean energy of the 2D electron gas and the first moment of their radiative recombination is analysed. It is shown that the magnetic field dependence of the first moment provides a method to measure the cyclotron, enhanced spin and quasiparticle energy gaps at the same time. Therefore it is shown how magneto-optics ‘see’ the ground state of interacting 2D electrons in the extreme quantum limit and how an optical ‘tool’ is efficient for the determination of Coulomb gaps of incompressible Fermi fluids in the fractional quantum Hall effect. Finally optical observations and studies of the Wigner crystallization of 2D electrons are presented. The corresponding liquid-solid phase diagram is discussed.     

Ambipolar tunneling in near-surface quantum wells

We study the photoluminescence from a near-surface quantum well in the regime of ambipolar tunneling to the surface states. Under steady-state excitation an electric field develops self-consistently due to the condition of equal tunneling currents for electrons and holes. The field induces a Stark shift of the photoluminescence signal which compares well with experimental data from near-surface GaAs/AlGaAs single quantum wells.     

原位等离子体逐层氧化a-Si:H/SiO2多层膜的光致发光研究

采用在等离子体增强化学汽相沉积系统中沉积a-Si:H和原位等离子体逐层氧化的方法制备a-Si:H/SiO2多层膜.改变a-Si:H层的厚度，首次在室温下观察到来自a-Si:H/SiO2多层膜较强的蓝色光致发光和从465到435nm的蓝移.x射线能谱证明，SiO2层是化学配比的SiO2；C-V特性表明，a-Si:H/SiO2界面得到了很好的钝化；透射电子显微镜表明，样品形成了界面陡峭的多层结构.结合光吸收谱和光致发光谱的研究，对其发光机理进行了讨论.用一维量子限制模型对光致发光峰随着a-Si:H层厚度的减小 关键词： a-Si:H/SiO2多层膜 光致发光     

Electron dynamics in modulation p-doped InGaAs/GaAs quantum dots

We investigate the electron dynamics of p-type modulation doped and undoped InGaAs/GaAs quantum dots using up-conversion photoluminescence at low temperature and room temperature. The rise time of the p-doped sample is significantly shorter than that of the undoped at low temperature. With increasing to room temperature the undoped sample exhibits a decreased rise time whilst that of the doped sample does not change. A relaxation mechanism of electron-hole scattering is proposed in which the doped quantum dots exhibit an enhanced and temperature independent relaxation due to excess built-in holes in the valence band of the quantum dots. In contrast, the rise time of the undoped quantum dots decreases significantly at room temperature due to the large availability of holes in the ground state of the valence band. Furthermore, modulation p-doping results in a shorter lifetime due to the presence of excess defects.     

Manifestation of collective effects in polarization-resolved recombination spectra of the completely filled zeroth landau level of two-dimensional electrons

The luminescence spectra due to recombination of two-dimensional electrons with optically excited holes have been studied in a wide range of electron filling factors in the transverse magnetic field. A nonmonotonic filling-factor dependence of the energy splitting between different circular polarizations of photoluminescence from the completely filled zeroth Landau level of electrons has been observed. It has been shown that this dependence is associated with collective (excitonic) effects that appear due to the interaction between electrons from partially occupied upper Landau levels and holes remaining on the zeroth Landau level after recombination.     

Electroluminescence of colloidal ZnSe quantum dots

The article reports a green chemical synthesis of colloidal ZnSe quantum dots at a moderate temperature. The prepared colloid sample is characterised by UV-vis absorption spectroscopy and transmission electron microscopy. UV-vis spectroscopy reveals as-expected blue-shift with strong absorption edge at 400 nm and micrographs show a non-uniform size distribution of ZnSe quantum dots in the range 1-4 nm. Further, photoluminescence and electroluminescence spectroscopies are carried out to study optical emission. Each of the spectroscopies reveals two emission peaks, indicating band-to-band transition and defect related transition. From the luminescence studies, it can be inferred that the recombination of electrons and holes resulting from interband transition causes violet emission and the recombination of a photon generated hole with a charged state of Zn-vacancy gives blue emission. Meanwhile electroluminescence study suggests the application of ZnSe quantum dots as an efficient light emitting device with the advantage of colour tuning (violet-blue-violet).     

Exciton energy relaxation on acoustic phonons in double-quantum-well structures

The paper analyzes the rate of energy relaxation involving acoustic phonon emission between exciton states in a double quantum well. A theoretical study is made of the part played by two mechanisms, one of which is a one-step transition with emission of an acoustic phonon and the other is a two-step transition, which includes elastic exciton scattering from interface nonuniformities followed by energy relaxation within an exciton subband. The rate of the two-step transition in real double quantum wells is shown to be higher than that of the one-step transition. As follows from calculations, the fast energy relaxation between exciton states is determined by the elastic scattering of phonons from the interface.     

Spin-polarized injection into a p-type GaAs layer from a Co2 MnAl injector

Electric luminescence and its circular polarization in a Co2 MnAl injector-based light emitting diode (LED) has been detected at the transition of e-A0 C , where injected spin-polarized electrons recombine with bound holes at carbon acceptors. A spin polarization degree of 24.6% is obtained at 77 K after spin-polarized electrons traverse a distance of 300 nm before they recombine with holes bound at neutral carbon acceptors in a p + -GaAs layer. The large volume of the p + -GaAs layer can facilitate the detection of weak electric luminescence (EL) from e-A 0C emission without being quenched at higher bias as in quantum wells. Moreover, unlike the interband electric luminescence in the p+ -GaAs layer, where the spin polarization of injected electrons is destroyed by a very effective electron-hole exchange scattering (BAP mechanism), the spin polarization of injected electrons seems to survive during their recombination with holes bound at carbon acceptors.     

(110)-GaAs量子阱中光生载流子对电子自旋弛豫的影响

我们实验研究了(110)-GaAs量子阱中光生载流子对电子自旋弛豫的影响。通过测量量子阱的荧光寿命和光学吸收计算,我们能得到不同泵浦光功率下的带间吸收所产生的空穴浓度;相对应地,通过双色磁光科尔旋转技术,我们测量了该GaAs量子阱中电子自旋的动力学过程。结合两者,我们得到了电子自旋弛豫速率与空穴浓度的关系。实验结果表明电子自旋弛豫速率与空穴浓度呈线性依赖关系,验证了BirAronov-Pikus机制主导该体系的电子自旋弛豫。     

Carrier localization in InN epilayers grown on Si substrates

The carrier localization in InN epilayers grown on Si(111) was studied using time-resolved photoluminescence (PL). The emission energy dependence and temperature dependence of the PL decay times revealed that carrier localization plays an important role in the recombination of this material system. A model based on the transition between free electrons in the conduction band and localized holes in the deeper tail states explains the carrier localization of InN epilayers. We suggest that the carrier localization in InN can be accounted for by the potential fluctuation caused by the random impurities.     

Retardation of the relaxation over quantum-well energy levels in CdSe/ZnS quantum dots with increasing number of excited carriers

The differential transmission spectra of CdSe/ZnS quantum dots are investigated. It is revealed that the differential transmission spectra measured upon resonant excitation of electrons into the first excited state 1P(e) exhibit a number of specific features, such as a decrease in transmission at the pump frequency, bleaching in the course of the pump pulse at frequencies corresponding to the fundamental optical transition 1S _3/2(h)-1S(e) and transitions between excited hole states and the 1S(e) electron ground state, and retardation of this process with an increase in the energy of the pump pulse. The observed specific features can be explained by the following factors: (i) the absence of a “phonon bottleneck” for electrons due to the energy transfer from hot electrons to rapidly relaxing holes, (ii) relaxation through intermediate quantum-well energy levels of holes, and (iii) retardation of relaxation with increasing number of excited charge carriers in a quantum dot.     

Spectroscopy of electroreflection, the electron band structure, and the mechanism of visible photoluminescence of anisotropically etched silicon

We present the results of studies of electroreflection in the 1.1–4.4 eV spectral range, of electron Auger spectroscopy, and of electron diffraction involving the photoluminescent Si-SiO₂ system prepared via anisotropic chemical etching of the Si(100) surface. These results are explained on the basis of a four-layer model of the band structure and energy transition diagram for a system with a quantum well at the silicon surface, surface electron states at the boundary, and a gradient of the band potential in the transition layer. We find that light-emitting silicon remains an indirect-gap semiconductor and that the visible photoluminescence is due to direct recombinations of the light-excited electrons and holes in the quantum well at the center of the Brillouin zone with the participation of the band of deep localized states, which is due to the presence of oxygen at the silicon surface. Zh. éksp. Teor. Fiz. 116, 1750–1761 (November 1999)