Mechanisms of Auger recombination in quantum wells

The main mechanisms for the Auger recombination of nonequilibrium carriers in semiconductor quantum-well heterostructures are investigated. It is shown for the first time that there are three fundamentally different Auger recombination mechanisms in quantum wells: 1) a threshold-free mechanism, 2) a quasithreshold mechanism, and 3) a threshold mechanism. The rate of the threshold-free process has a weak temperature dependence. The rate of the quasithreshold Auger process exhibits an exponential temperature dependence. However, the threshold energy depends significantly on the quantum-well width and is close to zero for narrow quantum wells. It is shown that the threshold-free and quasithreshold processes are dominant in fairly narrow quantum wells, while the quasithreshold and threshold Auger processes are dominant in wide quantum wells. The limiting transition to a three-dimensional Auger process is accomplished for a quantum-well width tending to infinity. The value of the critical quantum-well width, at which the quasithreshold and threshold Auger processes combine to form a single three-dimensional Auger recombination process, is found. Zh. éksp. Teor. Fiz. 113, 1491–1521 (April 1998)     

Mechanisms of Auger recombination in semiconducting quantum dots

Microscopic calculation of the probability of Auger recombination of charge carriers localized in a semiconducting quantum dot (QD) is carried out. It is shown that two mechanism of Auger recombination (nonthreshold and quasi-threshold) operate in the QD. The nonthreshold Auger recombination mechanism is associated with scattering of a quasimomentum from a heterobarrier, while the quasi-threshold mechanism is connected with spatial confinement of the wave functions of charge carriers to the QD region; scattering of carriers occurs at the short-range Coulomb potential. Both mechanisms lead to a substantial enhancement of Auger recombination at the QD as compared to a homogeneous semiconductor. A detailed analysis of the dependence of Auger recombination coefficient on the temperature and QD parameters is carried out. It is shown that the nonthreshold Auger recombination process dominates at low temperatures, while the quasi-threshold mechanism prevails at high temperatures. The dependence of the Auger recombination coefficient on the QD radius experiences noticeable changes as compared to quantum wells and quantum filaments.     

Theory of radiative and nonradiative transitions for semiconductor nanocrystals

Existing calculations on the radiative and nonradiative transitions in semiconductor crystallites are reviewed with particular emphasis on indirect band-gap materials like silicon for which the quantum confinement effects are more spectacular. It is shown that the crystallite gaps and radiative recombination rates can be predicted with fair accuracy. Effects related to atomic relaxation in the excited state (Stokes shift) are calculated and it is shown that small enough crystallites lead to self-trapped excitons which provide another source of luminescence, much less dependent on size effects. Nonradiative processes are then examined: intrinsic, due to Auger recombination, and extrinsic, due to dangling bond surface states. Both are found to play an essential role in the interpretation of experimental data. Finally, dielectric screening is studied, justifying the use of a reduced internal dielectric constant and providing an estimate of the Coulomb shift due to charging effects.     

Phonon-assisted auger recombination in quantum well semiconductors

Phonon-assisted Auger recombination (AR) is shown to be an important loss mechanism in a quantum well semiconductor in addition to the direct AR. Theoretical investigations demonstrate that it is of the same order of magnitude and has the same temperature dependence as in bulk material, just as direct AR, provided that the material parameters and the carrier concentrations are the same as in the bulk.     

Auger process in CdS/ZnS core-shell quantum dots

Auger processes are investigated for CdS/ZnS core-shell quantum dots. Auger recombination (AR) lifetime and electron relaxation inside the core are computed. Using the effective-mass theory and by solving a three-dimension Schrödinger equation we predict the dependence of Auger relaxation on size of core-shell nanocrystals. We considered in this work different AR processes: the excited electron (EE), excited hole (EH), multiexciton AR type. Likewise, Auger multiexciton recombination rates are predicted for biexciton. Our results show that biexciton AR type is more efficient than the other AR process (excited electron (EE) and excited hole (EH)). We also found that electron Auger relaxation P→S is very efficient in core-shell nanostructures.     

Gain and threshold properties of InGaAsN/GaAsN material system for 1.3-μm semiconductor lasers

The gain properties and valence subbands of InGaAsN/GaAsN quantum-well structures are numerically investigated with a self-consistent LASTIP simulation program. The simulation results show that the InGaAsN/GaAsN has lower transparency carrier density than the conventional InGaAsP/InP material system for 1.3-μm semiconductor lasers. The material gain and radiative current density of InGaAsN/GaAsN with different compressive strains in quantum well and tensile strains in barrier are also studied. The material gain and radiative current density as functions of strain in quantum well and barrier are determined. The simulation results suggest that the laser performance and Auger recombination rate of the 1.3-μm InGaAsN semiconductor laser may be markedly improved when the traditional GaAs barriers are replaced with the AlGaAs graded barriers.     

Mutual influence of Auger and non-radiative recombination processes under silicon femtosecond laser irradiation

The results of theoretical study of the contribution of recombination processes in additional heating of the surface of monocrystalline silicon during multipulse femtosecond laser processing are presented to discussion. The numerical evaluations are made in regimes of the laser radiation below the ablation threshold, when the microgeometry of the surface is formed due to the processes of self-organization. The influence of Auger recombination processes on the photoexcitation of the semiconductor during the pulse and relaxation after the pulse is studied in detail. It is shown that the additional heating of the surface due to non-radiative recombination is extremely small at pulse repetition rate 10 Hz–1 MHz. Mutual influence of recombination processes of both types is shown.     

双激子和浸润层泄漏以及俄歇俘获对量子点Rabi振荡衰减的影响

研究了脉冲激光激发下半导体量子点激子Rabi振荡中多能级过程引起的退相干特性.运用多能级粒子数运动方程组，分别计算和分析了三种多能级过程(双激子、浸润层泄漏以及俄歇俘获过程)对量子点中Rabi振荡衰减的影响.分析表明，双激子的影响在激发脉冲的脉宽较长时(>5ps)可以忽略；浸润层的泄漏虽然使得激子基态上粒子数振荡的振幅随着激发场的增强而减小，但是同时也导致了振荡平均值的减小；分析和讨论了两种俄歇俘获方式对激子振荡和复合发光的影响. 关键词： Rabi振荡 半导体量子点 退相干 俄歇俘获     

Influence of Auger recombination on the lifetime of nonequilibrium carriers in InGaAsSb/AlGaAsSb quantum well structures

Carrier recombination processes, including the Auger recombination, are studied in InGaAsSb/AlGaAsSb quantum well nanostructures. Based on the dynamics of photoluminescence, we estimate the emission time of an optical phonon, determined the recombination rate as a function of optical-excitation intensity, and estimated the coefficient characterizing the rate of the resonance Auger recombination.     

Microscopic theory of Auger recombination in quantum wires

An analysis is made of mechanisms for Auger recombination of nonequilibrium carriers in cylindrical quantum wires. It is shown that two different Auger recombination mechanisms take place in these wires: a quasi-threshold and a nonthreshold mechanism. Both mechanisms are associated with the presence of heterobarriers but are of a different nature. The quasi-threshold mechanism is attributed to the spatial confinement of the carrier wave functions to the region of the quantum wire and in this case the quasi-momentum conservation law is violated and the Auger recombination process is intensified. As the radius of the wire increases, the quasi-threshold Auger recombination process goes over to a threshold process. The nonthreshold mechanism is caused by the scattering of an electron (hole) at the heterojunction; the rate of this nonthreshold Auger recombination tends to zero in the limit of an infinite-radius wire.     

Modeling of gain and phase dynamics in quantum dot amplifiers

By means of an electron hole rate equation model we explain the phase dynamics of a quantum dot semiconductor optical amplifier and the appearance of different decay times observed in pump and probe experiments. The ultrafast hole relaxation leads to a first ultrafast recovery of the gain, followed by electron relaxation and, in the nanosecond timescale, radiative and non-radiative recombinations. The phase dynamics is slower and is affected by thermal redistribution of carriers within the dot. We explain the ultrafast response of quantum dot amplifiers as an effect of hole escape and recombination without the need to assume Auger processes.     

InAs QDs on InP: polarization insensitive SOA and non-radiative Auger processes

An efficient mechanical and electronic axial approximation of the strained 8 × 8 Hamiltonian is proposed for zinc-blende nanostructures with a cylindrical shape on (100) substrates. Vertically stacked InAs/InP columnar quantum dots (CQDs) for polarization insensitive semiconductor optical amplifier (SOA) in telecommunications applications are studied theoretically. Non-radiative Auger processes in InAs/InP quantum dots (QDs) are also investigated. It is shown that a multiband approach is necessary in both cases.     

Charge carrier recombination mechanisms in Sb-containing quantum well laser structures

The dynamics of interband luminescence in structures with InGaAsSb-based quantum wells and barriers of different types was studied at different temperatures and excitation levels. The lifetime of optically injected charge carriers in quantum wells at different temperatures and optical excitation levels was determined. An increased recombination rate in structures with deep electron quantum wells was discovered; it is associated with the occurrence of resonance Auger recombination. It was concluded that the application of quinary solid solutions as barriers in laser structures for a 3—4 fum wavelength range is to be preferred.     

Effect of zero- to one-dimensional transformation on multiparticle Auger recombination in semiconductor quantum rods

We study the effect of the zero- to one-dimensional (1D) transformation on multiparticle Auger recombination using a series of elongated semiconductor nanocrystals (quantum rods). We observe a transition from the three- to two-particle recombination process as the nanocrystal aspect ratio is increased. This transition indicates that in the 1D confinement limit, Auger decay is dominated by Coulomb interactions between 1D excitons that recombine in a bimolecular fashion. One consequence of this effect is strongly reduced decay rates of higher multiparticle states that lead to increased optical-gain lifetimes and efficient light amplification due to involvement of excited electronic states.     

Determination of carrier density dependent lifetime and quantum efficiency in semiconductors with a photoluminescence method (application to InGaAsP/InP heterostructures)

The light beam of a laser is focussed near the surface of a semiconductor sample. Thereby the excitation rate can be controlled precisely assuming a Gaussian intensity distribution of the beam. Measuring the recombination light intensity yields the quantum efficiency of the sample. By sinusoidal modulation of the excitation light and measurement of the resulting phase shift of the recombination light, the carrier density dependent lifetime is obtained. By evaluation of measured internal quantum efficiency and phase shift, Auger and radiative recombination coefficients are determined. The analysis takes into account the carrier density dependence of the radiative coefficient and shows that for most experimental conditions carrier diffusion can be neglected. In this case the analysis can be performed without numerical integration. Application of the method to quaternary InGaAsP material yielded values for Auger coefficient and radiative coefficients in accordance with published results.     

Pseudopotential theory of Auger processes in CdSe quantum dots

Auger rates are calculated for CdSe colloidal quantum dots using atomistic empirical pseudopotential wave functions. We predict the dependence of Auger electron cooling on size, on correlation effects (included via configuration interaction), and on the presence of a spectator exciton. Auger multiexciton recombination rates are predicted for biexcitons as well as for triexcitons. The results agree quantitatively with recent measurements and offer new predictions.     

Growth and optical properties of semiconductor nanocrystals in a glass matrix

Over the last 15 years nanocrystals embedded in a glass matrix have been a subject for studies of fundamental phenomena of quasiparticles (electrons, holes, excitons, phonons) quantum confinement in the nanosize semiconductor materials. Growth of the nanocrystals in a glass matrix is based on the thermodynamic process of the diffusion-controlled phase decomposition of oversaturated solid solutions. Three stages of the process in solutions prepared by co-melting, co-sputtering and ion-implantation techniques are discussed. It is shown that the growth technique makes it possible to vary the mean size of the particles, their size distribution and crystalline structure.

The optical properties of nanocrystals of various semiconductor compounds grown in different glass matrices are discussed. Attention is given to studies of a fine structure of optical spectra at resonant size-selective spectroscopy for both “strong” and “weak” confinement regimes. Energy spectra of confined acoustic and optical phonons in a “strong” confinement regime, studied by resonant Raman scattering, are discussed.     

Opto-thermionic refrigeration in semiconductor heterostructures.

Combining the ideas of laser cooling and thermionic cooling, we have proposed an opto-thermionic cooling process, and investigated its cooling effect caused by the light emission from a quantum well embedded into a semiconductor pn junction. For a GaAs/AlGaAs opto-thermionic refrigerator in which the Auger recombination is the major nonradiative process, cooling can be achieved in a finite range of bias voltage. Using the measured values of the Auger coefficient, our calculated cooling rate is at least several watts/cm(2).     

Auger carrier leakage in III‐nitride quantum‐well light emitting diodes

Auger induced leakage is shown to be a contributing factor for the internal quantum efficiency (IQE) droop in III‐nitride quantum‐well light emitting diodes (LEDs). The mechanism is based on leakage current from carrier spill‐out of the well originating from energy transfer during Auger recombination. Adding this leakage reduces the Auger coefficient by 50% when compared to a standard Auger model with cubic density dependence. As reference, experimental data of a green quantum‐well LED are taken. Direct leakage due to non‐ideal carrier capture and re‐emission out of the well affects the IQE at current densities much larger than the maximum IQE point. (© 2012 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)