Hyperbolic excitons in semiconductors

The energy and damping of the quasi-stationary state corresponding to a hyperbolic exciton in a semiconductor crystal are calculated. It was assumed that the screened Coulomb potential describes the interaction between the electron and hole. The resonance conditions due to the hyperbolic exciton are determined.     

Surface state excitons in semiconductors

We calculate binding energies and wave-functions of surface state excitons. Our approach is based on the effective mass approximation, and assumes a small but finite surface state penetration depth. Central cell corrections are included. We obtain binding energies in the tenth of eV range, in agreement with recent observations on GaAs (110) and Si (111) 7 × 7, for surface masses of order unity.     

Heavy- and light-hole excitons in anisotropic semiconductors

Summary We show how to compute the eigenvalues of an anisotropic Schroedinger equation for light-and heavy-hole excitons using a simplified deltalike interaction potential. Performing the calculation with a potential appropriate to bulk GaAs crystal, we obtain the excitonic binding energies for the heavy- and light-hole excitons, with the heavy-hole binding energy greater than that for the light hole. Inversion of this order for the case of a quantum well is discussed and expalined     

Core excitons in Ga-V compound semiconductors

The major chemical trends in the energies of Ga 3d core excitons in GaP, GaAs, and GaSb are accounted for by a theory which treats only the central-cell part of the electron-hole interaction.     

Self-induced transparency of excitons in semiconductors

Self-induced transparency of excitons is analysed in a model where intraband processes are described by density matrices and interband processes by coherent pair amplitudes. We determine the dispersion law of the carrier wave and the exciton wave function. The theory predicts: (a) a forbidden energy gap centered at the exciton line which broadens with increasing intensity, (b) a critical dependence of the effect on intensity, (c) a strong influence of intensity and carrier frequency on the exciton wave function.     

Diamagnetic excitons in semiconductors (Review)

Optical properties of semiconductor crystals in the presence of a high magnetic field have been considered. The field turn-on gives rise to oscillations of the optical-absorption edge or, more specifically, the formation of a complex absorption spectrum with a periodic structure, referred to as the spectrum of “diamagnetic excitons.” Such spectra appear a source of the most accurate knowledge about the band structure of semiconductors. Moreover, these spectra can be used for simulating the low-dimensional state in semiconductors and possible interpretation of the emission spectra of neutron stars. The proposed analytical review is based on extensive experimental and theoretical data contained mostly in cited original works of the author with colleagues.     

Spin fluctuations of nonequilibrium electrons and excitons in semiconductors

Effects that are related to deviations from thermodynamic equilibrium have a special place in modern physics. Among these, nonequilibrium phenomena in quantum systems attract the highest interest. The experimental technique of spin-noise spectroscopy has became quite widespread, which makes it possible to observe spin fluctuations of charge carriers in semiconductors under both equilibrium and nonequilibrium conditions. This calls for the development of a theory of spin fluctuations of electrons and electron–hole complexes for nonequilibrium conditions. In this paper, we consider a range of physical situations where a deviation from equilibrium becomes pronounced in the spin noise. A general method for the calculation of electron and exciton spin fluctuations in a nonequilibrium state is proposed. A short review of the theoretical and experimental results in this area is given.     

Inelastic collisions between excitons in semiconductors—I: Collisions with excited final states

The exciton-exciton (Exc-Exc) inelastic collision cross sections for the different semiconductors CdS, ZnO, CdSe, Si and Cu₂O have been calculated in the Born approximation. The simple transitions Exc (1s/B) + Exc (1s/A)→ Exc (1s/B) + Exc (nl /A) where nl = 2s, 2p, 3s, 3p and 3d have been The calculations are carried out as functions of the different available values of σ = m¹_e/m¹_h where m¹ and m¹_h are, respectively, the electron and the hole effective masses for the corresponding semiconductors.     

Acoustically induced stark effect for excitons in intrinsic semiconductors

A Stark effect for excitons parametrically driven by coherent acoustic phonons is proposed. Our scheme refers to a low-temperature intrinsic semiconductor or semiconductor nanostructure pumped by an acoustic wave (frequency band nu(ac) approximately equal to 1-40 GHz and intensity range I(ac) approximately equal to 10(-2)-10(2) W/cm(2)) and probed by low-intensity light. Tunable optical band gaps, which strongly change the spectral shape of the exciton line, are induced in the polariton spectrum by acoustic pumping. We develop an exactly solvable model of the acoustic Stark effect and apply our results to GaAs driven by bulk or surface acoustic waves.     

Bound excitons in Sr2CuO3

We investigated temperature dependent optical spectra of the one-dimensional chain compound Sr2CuO3. The charge transfer transition polarized along the chain direction shows a strongly asymmetric line shape as expected in one-dimensional extended Hubbard model. At low temperature, the charge transfer peak shows a large blueshift and reveals additional sharp peaks at the gap. Even though many spectroscopic studies suggest that this material cannot have a bound exciton based on the one-dimensional extended Hubbard model, we attribute the additional sharp peaks to excitons, which come to exist due to the long-range Coulomb interaction.     

Interaction between free carriers,free excitons,and electron-hole drops in germanium

Under steady-state conditions, we have observed an increase of photo-conductivity in Ge at low temperature simultaneously with radiation from electron-hole drops. A set of rate equations for a 3-phase system of carriers, free excitons and drops are used to interpret the results. Values of the exciton-recombination coefficient and the lifetimes of the three phases are determined.     

Conduction electron effective-mass in a field of excitons in semiconductors

The interaction of an electron with excitations of an exciton gas in a semi-conductor is considered in the intermediate coupling theory, to explain the recently observed enhancement of the electron effective mass in germanium in a field of real excitons.     

The dispersion of excitons,polaritons and biexcitons in direct-gap semiconductors

Excitons are the energetically lowest excitations of the electronic system in an ideal semiconductor at zero temperature. If the excitons couple to the electromagnetic field, a mixed state is formed, the quanta of which are called excitonic polaritons. Associates of two excitons, so-called biexcitons, have been observed in many semiconductors. Excitons are known for about forty years. During the first three decades, they have been investigated mainly by the classical spectroscopic methods, i.e., reflection, transmission and luminescence spectroscopy. In the last decade, several new techniques have been developed, which allow for a direct spectroscopy in momentum space. In this contribution, we review these novel techniques, both linear and nonlinear ones, and present results obtained for excitons, polaritons and biexcitons. The review is restricted to semiconductors which have their conduction band minimum and their valence band maximum at the same point of the Brillouin zone (direct-gap materials) and which have a band to band transition which is dipole allowed.