Raman scattering from confined phonons in GaAs/AlGaAs quantum wires

We report on photoluminescence and Raman scattering performed at low temperature (T =  10 K) on GaAs/Al_0.3Ga_0.7As quantum-well wires with effective wire widths ofL =  100.0 and 10.9 nm prepared by molecular beam epitaxial growth followed by holographic patterning, reactive ion etching, and anodic thinning. We find evidence for the existence of longitudinal optical phonon modes confined to the GaAs quantum wire. The observed frequency at ο_L10 =  285.6 cm⁻¹forL =  11.0 nm is in good agreement with that calculated on the basis of the dispersive dielectric continuum theory of Enderleinas applied to the GaAs/Al_0.3Ga_0.7As system. Our results indicate the high crystalline quality of the quantum-well wires fabricated using these techniques.     

Scattering time in GaAs/AlGaAs narrow wires in the presence of magnetic field

Magnetoresistance measurements have been performed in narrow GaAs/AlGaAs wires in order to study the scattering process in mesoscopic wires. Amplitude analysis of the Shubnikov -de Haas oscillations shows that electrons have two scattering times, depending upon the magnetic field range. The critical field which separates these scattering times seems to be determined by the relation between the wire width and the electron cyclotron radius. This effect is discussed in terms of the electron trajectories in a wire under the magnetic field.     

Strong Fermi-edge singularity in ultra-high-quality AlGaAs/GaAs quantum wires

We report the observation of a strong Fermi-edge singularity (FES), with the complete suppression of the band-edge peak, in the photoluminescence spectra of ultra-high-quality modulation-doped AlGaAs/GaAs quantum wires (QWRs). We find that the FES effect is very sensitive to the Fermi energy. The strong FES is observed only in QWRs having a Fermi energy of the order of a few meV, and disappears almost completely when the Fermi energy exceeds 10 meV. These results are expected to spark new research activities, both experimentally and theoretically, on many-body effects in one-dimensional electron gas.     

Temperature dependent time-resolved exciton luminescence in GaAs/AlGaAs quantum wires and dots

Transient photoluminescence of GaAs/AlGaAs quantum wires and quantum dots formed by strain confinement is studied as a function of temperature. At low temperature, luminescent decay times of the wires and dots correspond to the radiative decay times of localized excitons. The radiative decay time can be either longer or shorter than that of the host quantum well, depending on the size of the wires and dots. For small wires and dots (∼ 100 nm stressor), the exciton radiative recombination rate increases due to lateral confinement. Exciton localization due to the fluctuation of quantum well thickness plays an important role in the temperature dependence of luminescent decay time and exciton transfer in quantum wire and dot structures up to at least ∼ 80 K. Lateral exciton transfer in quantum wire and dot structures formed by laterally patterning quantum wells strongly affects the dynamics of wire and dot luminescence. The relaxation time of hot excitons increases with the depth of strain confinement, but we find no convincing evidence that it is significantly slower in quasi 1-D or 0-D systems than in quantum wells.     

Domain boundary instability in weakly coupled GaAs/AlGaAs superlattices

Self-sustained oscillations of the current with a frequency ranging from 0.7 to 3.6 MHz have been detected in weakly coupled GaAs/AlGaAs superlattice at 4.2 K. A study of the static and dynamic characteristics of the structure showed that the spontaneous oscillations arise in the local region of the superlattice, restricted by a size of the domain boundary expansion. The oscillations arise in the negative differential conductivity regions due to the periodic coupling and decoupling of subbands in adjacent quantum wells, forming the expanded domain boundary. We suggest that the spatio-temporal oscillations of the domain boundary should be considered as oscillations of an ensemble of several strongly phase-coupled oscillators. Each oscillator is a couple of two adjacent quantum wells, which operates as a single resonant tunneling diode.     

Carrier cooling and recombination heating in intermixed GaAs/AlGaAs quantum wires and dots

Il Nuovo Cimento D - The cooling of photoexcited hot carriers in 2D, 1D and 0D systems is studied experimentally. In comparison with a theoretical carrier relaxation model which holds for 2D and 1D...     

Laser-induced reshaping of the density of impurity states in GaAs/AlGaAs nanowires

The binding energy of shallow-donor impurities in a cylindrical quantum well wire irradiated by an intense non-resonant laser field is calculated within the effective mass approximation by using a variational procedure. Accurate laser-dressing effects are considered for both the confinement potential of the wire and the Coulomb potential of the impurity. The computation of the ground state subband energy eigenfunctions for different laser field intensities is based on a bidimensional finite element method. Important changes of the electron probability density under intense laser field conditions are predicted. The study reveals that the laser field compete with the quantum confinement and breaks down the degeneracy of states for donors symmetrically positioned within the nanostructure. A proper analysis of the density of impurity states is found to be essential for controlling the optical emission related to shallow donors in semiconductor quantum wires.     

Simultaneous effects of hydrostatic pressure and electric field on impurity binding energy and polarizability in coupled InAs/GaAs quantum wires

This work is concerned with the theoretical study of the combined effects of applied electric field and hydrostatic pressure on the binding energy and impurity polarizability of a donor impurity in laterally coupled double InAs/GaAs quantum-well wires. Calculations have been made in the effective mass and parabolic band approximations and using a variational method. The results are reported for different configurations of wire and barriers widths, impurity position, and electric field and hydrostatic pressure strengths. Our results show that for symmetrical structures the binding energy is an even function of the impurity position along the growth direction of the structure. Also, we found that for hydrostatic pressure strength up to 38 kbar, the binding energy increases linearly with hydrostatic pressure, while for larger values of hydrostatic pressure the binding energy has a non-linear behavior. Finally, we found that the hydrostatic pressure can increase the coupling between the two parallel quantum-well wires.     

A study for the cartography of the interface roughness of V-shaped AlGaAs/GaAs quantum wires

We present a theoretical study for the cartography of the interface roughness of AlGaAs/ GaAs V-shaped quantum wires which is reflected on the photoluminescence and micro-photoluminescence spectra of these structures. The model developed is based on the existence of microscopic compositional fluctuations at the interfaces. The fine structure of the micro-photoluminescence spectrum is attributed to localized excitonic states in island-like fluctuations which act as quantum boxes distributed along the free direction of the wire. The fluctuation of the concentration of these boxes together with the estimation of their sizes are used to explain the evolution of the signals along the wire axis and to produce the overall photoluminescence spectrum. The model is applied to a V-shaped Al_0.3Ga_0.7As/GaAs quantum wire and reproduces successfully the observed photoluminescence and micro-photoluminescence characteristics.     

Electron spin filtering in the GaAs/AlGaAs interface space charge field

The circularly polarized recombination radiation produced by optically oriented electrons in GaAs and viewed in the direction of and opposite to the pump light propagation was found to have opposite signs of polarization. The excitation was effected by photons of energy E_hv ≈ E _g + Δ through a transparent AlGaAs window. The opposite signs of circular polarization and its complex dependence on the luminescence wavelength are accounted for by the influence of the space charge field created by the depleted layer near the interface.     

Interband scattering and the "Metallic Phase" of two-dimensional holes in GaAs /AlGaAs

The "metallic" characteristics of high density holes in GaAs/AlGaAs heterostructures are attributed to inelastic scattering between the two split heavy hole bands. Landau fan diagrams and weak field magnetoresistance are employed to measure the interband scattering rate. The inelastic rate is found to depend on temperature with an activation energy similar to that characterizing the longitudinal resistance. It is argued that acoustic plasmon mediated Coulomb scattering might be responsible for the Arrhenius dependence on temperature. The absence of standard Coulomb scattering characterized by a power-law dependence upon temperature is pointed out.     

Spin excitations in few-electrons AlGaAs/GaAs quantum dots probed by inelastic light scattering

We present recent studies of electronic excitations in nanofabricated AlGaAs/GaAs semiconductor quantum dots (QDs) by resonant inelastic light scattering. The resonant light scattering spectra are dominated by excitations from parity-allowed inter-shell transitions between Fock–Darwin levels. In QDs with very few electrons the resonant spectra are characterized by distinct charge and spin excitations that reveal the strong impact of both exchange and correlation effects. A sharp inter-shell spin excitation of the triplet spin QD state with four electrons is identified.     

Magnetic field effect on the binding energy of a hydrogenic impurity in coaxial GaAs/ AlxGa1−xAs quantum well wires

We propose a coaxial cylindrical quantum well wire (QWW) system, in which two conducting cylindrical layers are separated by an insulating layer. The ground state binding energy of a hydrogenic impurity subjected to uniform magnetic field applied parallel to the wire axis is studied within a variational scheme as a function of the inner barrier thickness for two different impurity positions and various barrier potentials. The ground state energy and wave function in the presence of a magnetic field is directly calculated using the fourth-order Runge–Kutta method. It is found that the binding energy in critical barrier thickness shows a sharp increase or decrease depending on the impurity position and magnetic field strength. The main result is that a sharp variation in the binding energy, which may be important in device applications, depends strongly not only on the location of the impurity but also on the magnetic field and the geometry of the wire.     

Electronic structure of GaAs/AlGaAs quantum double rings in lateral electric field

A three-dimensional model of GaAs/A1GaAs quantum double rings in the lateral static electric field is investigated theoretically.The eigenvalue problem with the effective-mass approximation is solved by means of the finite-element method.The energy levels and wave functions of quantum-confined electrons and heavy holes are obtained and show an agreement with our previous theoretical and experimental studies.It is shown in the approximation of neglecting the Coulomb attraction between the electron and heavy hole that a relatively large Stark shift of exciton emission of 4 meV is attainable with an applied electric field of 0.7 kV/cm.     

Resonant tunneling transport through GaAs/AlGaAs superlattices in strong tilted magnetic field

An analysis is presented of the transverse resonant tunneling transport through GaAs/AlGaAs superlattices due to tunneling between Landau levels in quantum wells in a strong tilted magnetic field. A high tunneling rate is demonstrated between Landau levels with Δn ≠ 0 in a magnetic field with a nonzero in-plane component. This leads to substantial broadening and shift of the tunneling resonance and significant changes in the current-voltage characteristics of superlattices. The predicted behavior of the current-voltage characteristics of superlattices in tilted magnetic fields is demonstrated experimentally.     

Pressure dependence of electron scattering by DX centres in GaAs and AlGaAs

Abstract

The electron mobility of heavily n-dopped GaAs and AlGaAs increases rapidly with applied hydrostatic pressure as carriers are trapped at DX centres. This has been taken as evidence against the Chadi and Chang (CC) negative charge state model of the DX centre. We argue that DX^? centres are formed close to d⁺ centres in highly doped samples, and that the mobility data is in fact fully consistent with the CC model, when such dipole-like correlations are included.