Injection, intersubband relaxation and recombination in GaAs multiple quantum wells

Results of continuous excitation, time-delayed and time-resolved cathodoluminescence experiments on undoped and Be-doped GaAs multiple quantum wells of thickness 5–11 nm are reported for temperatures 5–300 K and excitation intensities 1–10³ W/cm². Comparison is made with similar investigations of bulk epitaxial GaAs layers. Increasing structural localisation of the carriers is identified to lead to a qualitative change of the type of recombination. Increasingly faster radiative excitonic recombination leads to a bypass of impurity and trap capture processes in undoped as well as in doped material, at low temperatures as well as at room temperature. Despite the exponential character of excitonic decay, the luminescence transients are found to be very complex due to an interplay of intersubband scattering and recombination processes and time-dependent carrier temperature. Transients are analysed in detail, excitonic lifetimes and intersubband scattering times are derived. It is argued that both the lifetime reduction in quantum wells and the novel process of recombination heating lead to a strongly increased quasiequilibrium temperature of excited carriers in the wells as compared to bulk material. Injection of carriers from 18 nm GaAlAs barriers to GaAs wells is found to occur in less than 10^-12 s without loss.     

Interwell excitons in GaAs/AlGaAs double quantum wells and their collective properties

Luminescence spectra of interwell excitons in GaAs/AlGaAs double quantum wells with electric-field-tilted bands (n-i-n) structures were studied. In these structures the electron and the hole in the interwell exciton are spatially separated between neighboring quantum wells by a narrow AlAs barrier. Under resonant excitation by circularly polarized light the luminescence line of the interwell excitons exhibited appreciable narrowing as their concentration increased and the degree of circular polarization of the photoluminescence increased substantially. Under resonant excitation by linearly polarized light the alignment of the interwell excitons increased as a threshold process with increasing optical pumping. By analyzing time-resolved spectra and the kinetics of the photoluminescence intensity under pulsed excitation it was established that under these conditions the rate of radiative recombination increases substantially. The observed effect occurs at below-critical temperatures and is interpreted in terms of the collective behavior of the interwell excitons. Studies of the luminescence spectra in a magnetic field showed that the collective exciton phase is dielectric and in this phase the interwell excitons retain their individual properties.     

Photoinduced charge redistribution and its influence on excitonic states in Zn(Cd)Se/ZnMgSSe/GaAs quantum-well heterostructures

The photoinduced charge redistribution in Zn(Cd)Se/ZnMgSSe/GaAs quantum-well heterostructures under different conditions of optical excitation has been investigated using scanning probe microscopy and optical spectroscopy in the temperature range from 5 to 300 K. Excitation of the samples by radiation with a photon energy greater than the band gap of Zn(Cd)Se leads to the accumulation of electrons in quantum wells, which is detected using scanning spreading resistance microscopy. For moderate excitation densities (up to 25 W/cm²) and at temperatures ranging from 80 to 100 K, the density of a quasi-two-dimensional electron gas formed in quantum wells is several orders of magnitude higher than the density of electron-hole pairs generated by the excitation radiation. The excess electron concentration in the quantum well leads to a broadening of the exciton resonances and to an increase in the relative intensity of the donor-bound exciton emission line and also determines the increase in the luminescence quantum yield with increasing excitation intensity. An additional illumination with a photon energy less than the band gap of Zn(Cd)Se decreases the concentration of excess electrons in quantum wells. The influence of the additional illumination is observed at a temperature of approximately 100 K and almost completely suppressed at 5 K. The obtained results are explained in terms of the formation of a potential barrier for electrons at the ZnMgSSe/GaAs interface and by the specific features of recombination processes in the electron-hole system containing impurity centers with different charge states.     

Barrier-disorder induced exciton relaxation via LO-phonons in GaAs/Al x Ga1−x As multiple quantum wells

Hot exciton relaxation is observed in GaAs/Al _x Ga_1–x As multiple quantum wells. The photolumnescence excitation spectra of the localized exciton emission at low temperatures and excitation densities are composed of narrow equidistant peaks exactly separated by the GaAs LO-phonon energy (36 meV). The relaxation mechanism via LO-phonons is found to be important for localized excitons in multiple quantum wells with GaAs layer thicknesses of about 50 Å, where pronounced alloy fluctuations in the barriers provide a strong additional lateral potential which suppresses the dissociation of hot excitons.     

Reasons of emission inhomogeneity in InAs quantum dot structures

The photoluminescence (PL) inhomogeneity has been studied in InAs quantum dots (QDs) embedded in the symmetric In_0.15Ga_0.85As/GaAs quantum wells (QWs) with QDs grown at different temperatures. It was shown that three reasons are responsible for the emission inhomogeneity in studied QD structures: (i) the high concentration of nonradiative recombination centers in the capping In_0.15Ga_0.85As layer at low QD growth temperatures, (ii) the QD density and size distributions for the structure with QD grown at 510 ^°C, (iii) the high concentration of nonradiative recombination centers in the GaAs barrier at higher QD growth temperatures.     

CdSe/ZnSe复合结构非对称量子阱的发光特性

利用MOCVD技术在GaAs衬底上外延生长了非对称量子阱结构CdSe/ZnSe材料,通过对其稳态变温光谱及变激发功率光谱,研究了其发光特性。稳态光谱表明:在82～141K时,观测到的两个发光峰来源于不同阱层厚度的量子阱激子发光,用对比实验验证了高能侧发光的来源。宽阱发光强度先增加后减小,将其归结为激子隧穿与激子热离化相互竞争的结果。通过Arrhenius拟合,对宽阱激子热激活能进行了计算。82K时变激发功率PL光谱表明:由于激子隧穿的存在,使得窄阱发光峰位不随激发功率变化而变化,宽阱发光峰位随激发功率增加发生了蓝移,并对激子隧穿进行了实验验证。     

Hot electron cooling in parabolic and modulation doped quantum wells and doped superlattices

Hot electron cooling in variously structured and doped quantum wells and superlattices has been studied by low temperature steady-state photoluminescence. A parabolic quantum well realized by thickness grading of Al_0.3Ga_0.7As and GaAs epitaxial layers deposited by molecular beam epitaxy with electron level spacings of ∼25 meV did not show increased electron plasma temperatures compared to thick epitaxially deposited GaAs or square quantum wells with electron level spacings greater than the LO phonon energy of GaAs; this implies that mechanisms involving intersubband Δk ≠ 0 transitions and interfacial recombination are dominant in the parabolic structure. Investigations as a function of carrier concentration in modulation-doped quantum wells and n-type superlattices with strong miniband formation indicate that increasing the carrier concentration in either structure above ∼ 5 × 10¹⁷ cm^-3 significantly increases the electron plasma temperatures, even under low light excitation, suggesting that such structures may be suited for high efficiency hot electron photovoltaic and photoelectrochemical cells.     

Intraband absorption and emission of light in quantum wells and quantum dots

High-resolution spectroscopy in the mid-infrared spectral range is used to study electronic transitions between size-quantization subbands in stepped quantum wells under picosecond interband excitation. The contributions from intersubband and intrasubband absorption of light are separated by using the difference in time profiles of the absorption coefficient for these cases. For stepped quantum wells, spontaneous interband luminescence and superluminescence are studied for different excitation levels. For structures with quantum dots, the intraband absorption spectra for n-and p-type structures and the spectra of photoinduced intraband absorption and emission (for polarized radiation) for undoped structures are studied.     

Two-dimensional electron gas in double quantum wells with tilted bands

When a voltage is applied to double quantum wells based on AlGaAs/GaAs heterostructures with contact regions (n-i-n structures), a two-dimensional (2D) electron gas appears in one of the quantum wells. Under illumination which generates electron-hole pairs, the photoexcited holes become localized in a neighboring quantum well and recombine radiatively with the 2D electrons (tunneling recombination through the barrier). The appearance, ground-state energy, and density of the degenerate 2D electron gas are determined from the structure of the Landau levels in the luminescence and luminescence excitation spectra as well as from the oscillations of the radiative recombination intensity in a magnetic field with detection directly at the Fermi level. The electron density is regulated by the voltage between the contact regions and increases with the slope of the bands. For a fixed slope of the bands the 2D-electron density has an upper limit determined by the resonance tunneling of electrons into a neighboring quantum well and subsequent direct recombination with photoexcited holes. Pis’ma Zh. éksp. Teor. Fiz. 65, No. 11, 840–845 (10 June 1997)     

Collective behavior of interwell excitons in GaAs/AlGaAs double quantum wells

Photoluminescence spectra of interwell excitons in double GaAs/AlGaAs quantum wells (n-i-n structures) have been investigated (an interwell exciton in these systems is an electron-hole pair spatially separated by a narrow AlAs barrier). Under resonance excitation by circularly polarized light, the luminescence line of interwell excitons exhibits a significant narrowing and a drastic increase in the degree of circular polarization of photoluminescence with increasing exciton concentration. It is found that the radiative recombination rate significantly increases under these conditions. This phenomenon is observed at temperatures lower than the critical point and can be interpreted in terms of the collective behavior of interwell excitons.     

Influence of polarization-matched AlGaInN barriers in blue InGaN light-emitting diodes

The advantages of blue InGaN light-emitting diodes with low bandgap energy and polarization-matched AlGaInN barriers are demonstrated numerically. Simulation results show that, besides the common benefit of enhanced electron-hole spatial overlap in the quantum well from the polarization-matched condition, the lower bandgap energy barriers can have additional advantages of more uniform carrier distribution among quantum wells while maintaining sufficient electron confinement. The internal quantum efficiencies of all the polarization-matched structures under study exhibit less severe efficiency droop, which is presumably attributed to the suppression of Auger recombination.     

Hot carrier cooling in GaSb: Bulk and quantum wells

We have investigated hot carrier dynamics in GaSb structures, bulk and quantum wells, using picosecond time-resolved photoluminescence. Bulk samples show remarkably little carrier heating which we attribute to rapid electron relaxation within the L valleys. Quantum wells show slower cooling than the bulk, which is consistent with similar measurements of other III–V systems. Strong Auger recombination heating of the plasma is found to be responsible for maintaining relatively high temperatures at times 25 ps.     

Excitonic effects in the recombination radiation spectra of completely filled Landau levels of two-dimensional electrons

The recombination radiation spectra of two-dimensional electrons in an asymmetrically doped GaAs/AlGaAs quantum well are investigated at different temperatures and laser-excitation energies. At low temperatures and in high magnetic fields the recombination lines of the electrons from completely filled Landau levels are split into narrow sublevels. It is shown that this fine structure of the Landau levels is due to the presence of excitonic effects in the initial and final states of the photoexcited system. It is demonstrated that the recombination process is accompanied by the excitation of intersubband and cyclotron magnetoplasma modes. Pis’ma Zh. éksp. Teor. Fiz. 65, No. 1, 38–43 (10 January 1997)     

Photoluminescence of HgCdTe heterostructures with multiple quantum wells

An analysis of experimental data obtained by various authors via recording infrared (IR) photoluminescence (PL) in heteroepitaxial structures based on solid Cd _x Hg_1?x Te (CHT) solutions with multiple quantum wells is presented. A theoretical analysis of optical transition energies is conducted based on a self-consistent solution to the Poisson and Schröbinger equations for a quantum well. Experimental data obtained at different temperatures, pump powers, and excitation wavelengths are analyzed.     

Charge and energy transfer in double asymmetric quantum wells with quantum dots

The luminescence and luminescence excitation spectra of CdSe/ZnSe quantum dots are studied in a set of double quantum wells with the ZnSe barrier of width 14 nm, the same amount of a deposited CdSe layer forming a deep well and shallow wells with different depths. It is found that for a certain relation between the depths of shallow and deep wells in this set, conditions are realized under which the exciton channel in the luminescence excitation spectrum of a shallow well dominates in the region of kinetic exciton energies exceeding 10 longitudinal optical phonons above the bottom of the exciton band of the ZnSe barrier. A model is developed for the transfer of electrons, holes, and excitons between the electronic states of shallow and deep quantum wells separated by wide enough barriers. It is shown that the most probable process of electronic energy transfer between the states of shallow and deep quantum wells is indirect tunneling with the simultaneous excitation of a longitudinal optical phonon in the lattice. Because the probability of this process for single charge carriers considerably exceeds the exciton tunneling probability, a system of double quantum wells can be prepared in which, in the case of weak enough excitation, the states of quantum dots in shallow quantum wells will be mainly populated by excitons, which explains experimental results obtained.     

Efficiency droop suppression in GaN-based light-emitting diodes by chirped multiple quantum well structure at high current injection

Gallium nitride(Ga N) based light-emitting diodes(LEDs) with chirped multiple quantum well(MQW) structures have been investigated experimentally and numerically in this paper. Compared to conventional LEDs with uniform quantum wells(QWs), LEDs with chirped MQW structures have better internal quantum efficiency(IQE) and carrier injection efficiency. The droop ratios of LEDs with chirped MQW structures show a remarkable improvement at 600 m A/mm2,reduced down from 28.6%(conventional uniform LEDs) to 23.7%(chirped MQWs-a) and 18.6%(chirped MQWs-b),respectively. Meanwhile, the peak IQE increases from 76.9%(uniform LEDs) to 83.7%(chirped MQWs-a) and 88.6%(chirped MQWs-b). The reservoir effect of chirped MQW structures is the significant reason as it could increase hole injection efficiency and radiative recombination. The leakage current and Auger recombination of chirped MQW structures can also be suppressed. Furthermore, the chirped MQWs-b structure with lower potential barriers can enhance the reservoir effect and obtain further improvement of the carrier injection efficiency and radiative recombination, as well as further suppressing efficiency droop.     

ZnSe/BeTe Ⅱ型量子阱中界面结构对发光特性的影响

报道了具有特殊界面结构(界面包含三个Zn—Te或Te—Zn化学键)的非掺杂ZnSe/BeTe II 型量子阱在低温(5—10 K)条件下的空间间接光致发光(PL)光谱的实验结果. PL光谱显示了一个较弱的双峰结构和较低的线性偏振度,并且这两个峰的线性偏振度相反. 此外,这个PL光谱也强烈地依赖于一个外加电场的变化. 这些结果表明样品的两个发光峰是分别来自两个界面的发光跃迁,并且特殊界面结构降低了空间间接PL的发光效率和线性偏振性,以及界面附近的内秉电场. 随着激发强度的增加,PL谱的高能端发光峰显示了一个 关键词： Ⅱ型量子阱 光致发光 界面结构     

Non-linear luminescence due to exciton - e-h plasma transformation in mixed type I - type II quantum wells

We report on the photoluminescence and its excitation spectra of mixed type I - type II GaAs/AlAs quantum wells (MTQW) under applied magnetic fields. These structures consist of alternating narrow and wide wells and are designed so that the electron density in the wide well can be optically controlled. A transition from excitonic to free carrier recombination is observed as the electron density is increased.     

Photoluminescence decay times in (AlGa)As  GaAs multiple quantum well heterostructures

Measurements are reported of the photoluminescence decay rate from 55 Å GaAs(Al_0.35Ga_0.65)As multiple quantum well samples prepared by molecular beam epitaxy. Results are reported for the temperature range 4–295 K. Additional measurements of the external photoluminescence efficiency of single thin layers of (AlGa)As lead us to conclude that at the higher temperatures the lifetime in the quantum wells is limited by non-radiative recombination at or close to the (AlGa)As barriers. Following studies of the decay at 4 K we offer a possible alternative explanation of the free exciton decay mechanism to that postulated previously.     

CdSe/CdMnSe多量子阱的激子光学性质的研究

用分子束外延在GaAs衬底上生长了CdSe/CdMnSe多量子阱结构.利用X射线衍射(XRD)、变密度激发的PL光谱、变温度PL光谱和变密度激发的ps时间分辨光谱研究了CdSe/CdMnSe多量子阱结构和激子复合特性.讨论了随温度升高辐射线宽展宽和辐射复合效率降低的机理.发现不同激发密度下发光衰减时间不同,认为它的机理可能是无辐射复合引起的.在该材料中观测到激子激子散射发射峰,它被变密度激发和变温度PL光谱所证实. 关键词： CdSe/CdMnSe 量子阱 光学性质