Many body effects and internal transitions of confined excitons in GaAs and CdTe quantum wells

Many body effects contribute significantly to the energy states of electron-hole pairs confined in quantum wells in the presence of excess electrons. We present results of optically detected resonance spectroscopy of the internal transitions of photo-excited electron-hole pairs in the presence of excess electrons for GaAs QWs and CdTe QWs. Compared to the case of isolated negatively charged excitons, excess electrons produce a large blue shift of the internal transitions in modulation-doped GaAs quantum wells (QWs) for filling factor <2, and similar effects are found in CdTe QWs. For filling factor >2 no internal transitions are observed. These measurements demonstrate the strong effects of electron-electron correlations on the internal transitions of charged excitons in these quasi-2D systems and the importance of magnetic translation invariance. In the presence of excess electrons, the observed internal transitions are those of a magnetoplasmon bound to a mobile valence band hole.     

Evolution of electronic states in thin Ca(001) flms in strong electrostatic fields

The transformation of electronic states in Ca(001) films in strong electrostatic fields is studied using electron density functional theory. It is shown that an excess film charge of either sign pins the Fermi level (with respect to the conduction band edge) in a wide range of fields. For positively charged films, the change in the density of states at the Fermi level is small but the energy derivative of the density of states changes sign with increasing excess charge of the film. For negatively charged Ca(001) films, the change in the density of states at the Fermi level plays the main role in stabilizing the width of the occupied part of the conduction band; this should be manifested in the electronic thermodynamic and transport properties of negatively charged Ca(001) films with quantum confinement.     

Nonlinear interaction phenomenon of dust acoustic solitary and shock waves in dusty plasma

The effects of head-on collision on dust acoustic (DA) solitary and shock waves in dusty plasma are investigated considering positively charged inertial dust, Boltzmann distributed negatively charged heavy ions, positively charged light ions, and superthermal electrons in the plasma system. The nonlinear Korteweg-de-Vries (KdV) Burger equations are derived taking the extended Poincaré-Lighthill-Kuo method into account to study the characteristic properties of nonlinearity and production of solitary shock due to collisions. The study reveals that the amplitudes and widths of the DA shock waves are decreasing with increasing viscosity, electron to dust density ratio, and dust to ion temperature ratio, while they are increasing due to the presence of superthermal electrons. The nonlinearity of DA waves are enhanced with increasing density ratio of electron to dust and temperature ratio of dust to ion and electron, respectively, but it is reducing with superthermal electrons. The phase shifts of DA solitary waves are found to decrease with rising superthermality of electrons and increase with the density ratio of electron to dust.     

Compton scattering of 59.5 keV gamma rays from p-Si sample in an external electric field

This study is related to Compton scattering of photons from a p-Si sample whose surface charge density distributions are changed by an external electric field. The external electric field intensity in the range 0-75 kV/m was used to change the surface charge density distributions of the sample. The sample surface perpendicular to the electric field was selected as the scattering surface. The p-Si sample was bombarded by 59.5 keV γ-photons emitting from an Am-241 point source. The Compton scattered photons at an angle of 90^o were detected by an Si(Li) detector. The Compton scattering intensity suddenly increased with the application of the electric field since the applied electric field distorts both the negatively charged scattering center (free electron, bound electron, ionized acceptor) and the positively charged scattering center (hole) and their momentum distribution in the sample. There is a good third-order polynominal relation between the Compton scattering intensity and the increasing (or decreasing) electric field intensity. The results show that the positively charged scattering centers behave like negatively charged scattering centers, but the latter are slightly more effective than the former in the Compton scattering of γ-rays from the sample in the electric field.     

Spatial and temporal electron and ion density variations within the focal region of an intense laser beam in a tenuous plasma

The recent availability of focussed laser beams with flux densities well in excess of 10¹⁵ watts/cm² at 1.06 μm has led to experimental investigations of direct interaction between intense electromagnetic fields and charged particles. In this paper the relevant hydrodynamic two-fluid mode equations for a singly ionized tenuous plasma eveloped by an intense spatially varying electromagnetic field at the focus of a pulsed laser beam is solved by computer simulations for a cylindrically symmetric geometry. Radial, axial and temporal variations of electron and ion densities are given for different laser intensities and particle number densities. Fluctuations in electron density are found due to the bulk oscillation of electrons relative to what is essentially a static array of massive ions. The possibility of generating intense electromagnetic fields devoid of charged particles is discussed.     

含有带正负电离子的等离子体中的非线性波研究

研究了含有带正负电的冷离子和热电子的磁化等离子体系统.运用约化摄动法从该系统的运动方程中推导出Zakharov-Kuznetsov(ZK)方程、改进的ZK方程和耦合ZK方程.给出了这些方程的一种孤立波解,得到了孤立波的振幅、宽度、传播速度与负离子和正离子的质量比、负离子数密度、磁场强度的关系以及正离子和负离子在运动过程中的位移图像. 关键词： Zakharov-Kuznetsov(ZK)方程 改进的ZK方程 耦合ZK方程 约化摄动法     

Stark effect of negatively and positively charged excitons in semiconductor quantum wells

We study the effect of an electric field applied normal to the layers on the binding energy of charged excitons (or trions) in GaAs quantum wells. We find that, in contrast to the neutral exciton, their binding energy is sharply reduced by modest electric fields. The effect is stronger for the positively charged exciton than the negatively charged one. The ionisation of the excess carrier is explained by the field-induced polarisation of the electron and hole subband wave functions.     

Ground state energies of neutral and negatively charged donors in nanowire superlattice

Using the Bastard-type trial function for the neutral donor and the Hylleraas-type trial function for the negatively charged donor, we investigate the effect of donor positions inside the cylindrical GaAs/Ga(Al)As nanowire superlattice on their ground state energies. Results of calculation, presented in the form of contour plots of the energies corresponding to different donor positions along a cross section through symmetry axis, show a close relationship between the energies of the neutral and negatively charged donors and the charge distributions in one- and two-electron nanowire superlattices, respectively, at the point of their locations. The higher the charge density resulting from the unbound electron at a point in the heterostructure, the lower are the ground state energies of the neutral and negatively charged donors located at this point.     

Radiative unstabilities in some triple electronic colour centre systems in ionic crystals

The principal unstability of some polyvalent triple impurity systems against the possibility of radiative tunnel transitions (RTTs) is discussed. As an example, a three-centre system of neutral, negatively charged and positively charged F-, F′- and α-colour centres in an alkali halide crystal is considered. If the distance between F- and F'-centres is much smaller than the F'-α distance then, along with a very slow RTT process, F′ + α → 2F, a much faster RTT process F′(h) + F(1) → F(h) + F′(1) is also a possible one. Here, h and 1 denote the relatively higher and lower energy position of the trapping level for an extra electron at two F-sites caused by their different distances from the charged α-centre. This type of radiative unstabilities could be relatively significant in areas of defect clustering.     

Optical Diagnostics Using a Barium Ion Beam for Spatial Resolution of Plasma Parameters

Plasma electron excitation of the 6s2S1/2 - 6p2P resonance transitions for the singly charged barium ion is proposed as an optical diagnostic for plasmas of thermonuclear interest. Spatial information arises from the intersection of a barium ion beam and the viewing optics. Measurement of relative intensity during a scan of beam and/or optics provides information for electron density and temperature profiles. Zeeman splitting of the emission lines allows local magnetic field and beta determination. Plasma and beam conditions for which such a tool is useful are given.     

非聚焦电子束照射SiO2薄膜带电效应

采用考虑电子散射、俘获、输运和自洽场的三维数值模型, 模拟了低能非聚焦电子束照射接地SiO₂薄膜的带电效应. 结果表明, 由于电子的迁移和扩散, 电子会渡越散射区域产生负空间电荷分布. 空间电荷呈现在散射区域内为正, 区域外为负的交替分布特性. 对于薄膜负带电, 电子会输运至导电衬底形成泄漏电流, 其暂态过程随泄漏电流的增加趋于平衡. 而正带电暂态过程随返回二次电子的增多而趋于平衡. 在平衡态时, 负带电表面电位随薄膜厚度、陷阱密度的增大而降低, 随电子迁移率、薄膜介电常数的增大而升高;而正带电表面电位受它们影响较小.     

Resonant decay of a Langmuir wave in the presence of dust grains in a cylindrical plasma

The resonant parametric decay of a Langmuir wave into a backward propagating Langmuir wave and an ion acoustic (IA) wave is studied in a cylindrical dusty plasma. The analysis shows that the frequency of the IA mode decreases with the parameter δ_c (where δ_c is the ratio of the ion density to the electron density) for negatively charged dust grains. The growth rate of the resonance decay instability (RDI) and the threshold required for its onset also decrease with δ_c and are strongly dependent on the electron to ion temperature ratio for both positively and negatively charged dust grains. The results obtained also illustrate the dependence of the threshold of the resonance decay instability (μ_th) on the plasma cylinder radius.     

Changes of the electron dynamics in hydrogen inductively coupled plasma

Changes of the electron dynamics in hydrogen （H2） radio-frequency （RF） inductively coupled plasmas are investigated using a hairpin probe and an intensified charged coupled device （ICCD）. The electron density, plasma emission intensity, and input current （voltage） are measured during the E to H mode transitions at different pressures. It is found that the electron density, plasma emission intensity, and input current jump up discontinuously, and the input voltage jumps down at the E to H mode transition points. And the threshold power of the E to H mode transition decreases with the increase of the pressure. Moreover, space and phase resolved optical emission spectroscopic measurements reveal that, in the E mode, the RF dynamics is characterized by one dominant excitation per RF cycle, while in the H mode, there are two excitation maxima within one cycle.     

Mechanisms of charging of insulators under irradiation with medium-energy electron beams

The electron emission and charge characteristics of a large number of massive insulators are investigated qualitatively and quantitatively. It is demonstrated that irradiation of insulators with a medium-energy continuous electron beam leads to a decrease in the equilibrium energy of incident electrons (the second critical energy) as compared to the theoretical value. The equilibrium state of charging to saturation is attained for times from several seconds to several hundred seconds depending on the irradiation current density, the electron energy, and the insulator material. The mechanisms of charging are explained in the framework of the model according to which irradiation is accompanied by the formation of a charged double layer that consists of a positively charged layer (with the thickness equal to the escape depth of secondary electrons) and a negatively charged layer (with the thickness equal to the penetration depth of primary electrons).     

Blueshift and spectral features of the gravitational searchlight

It is shown that a photon emitted in the forward direction by a charged particle moving in an equatorial circular orbit centred on a highly collapsed mass M, the radius being slightly in excess of one and a half times the Schwarzschild radius, is strongly blueshifted when it arrives at a distant receiver. A ring shaped emitting region composed of such orbiting particles has a power law spectrum of the formd/ as seen by a distant stationary observer.     

Stabilization energies of charged multiexciton complexes calculated at configuration interaction level

Recombination and stabilization energies of multiexcitons confined in positively and negatively charged semiconductor InGaAs/GaAs quantum dot (QD) samples have been studied by employing large-scale configuration interaction (CI) calculations. The CI calculations show that at most six electrons or two holes can be confined in the QD. Multiply charged multiexciton complexes with up to five excess electrons or two excess holes are also found to be stable, even when a few electron–hole pairs are present in the QD. The chemical potential functions for charged QD samples do not possess the pronounced stepped form as obtained for the corresponding neutral multiexciton complexes. The negatively and the positively charged excitons (negative and positive trions) lie lower in energy as compared to a neutral exciton and a single non-interacting charge carrier in the lowest single-particle state of another quantum dot. The other charged multiexciton complexes studied are not confined with respect to the corresponding neutral multiexciton and a non-interacting charge carrier. To include the contributions from the heavy-hole light-hole (HH–LH) coupling, a perturbative treatment of the band-mixing effects was implemented. The perturbation-theory calculations show that the HH–LH coupling does not shift the energies in the present InGaAs/GaAs QD sample.     

Recent results on multiple ionization and fragmentation of negatively charged fullerene ions by electron impact

Employing the dynamic crossed-beams technique, the absolute cross sections of the electron-impact multiple ionization and fragmentation of mass-selected negatively charged fullerene ions C _m ^? → C _m?n ²⁺ (m=60, 70, 84; q=1, 2, 3; n=0, 2, 4) were measured. The electron energy varied from the respective threshold up to 1 keV. A scaling law was observed for the cross-section magnitude as a function of the fullerene size m and the charge state q of product ions. The data indicate that different mechanisms account for the detachment of an extra electron from the negatively charged fullerene and the formation of a positively charged ion, respectively. Moreover, the multiple ionization of a fullerene anion is found to be a sequential process. A novel ionization mechanism is proposed which might be expected to be valid for all negatively charged molecular or cluster ions able to shield the attached electron from the incident electron.     

Surface states and the charge of a dust particle in a plasma

We investigate electron and ion surface states of a negatively charged dust particle in a gas discharge and identify the charge of the particle with the electron surface density bound in the polarization-induced short-range part of the particle potential. On that scale, ions do not affect the charge. They are trapped in the shallow states of the Coulomb tail of the potential and act only as screening charges. Using orbital-motion limited electron charging fluxes and the particle temperature as an adjustable parameter, we obtain excellent agreement with experimental data.     

Exciton-electron interaction in quantum wells with a two dimensional electron gas of low density

II–VI quantum-well structures containing a 2DEG of low density have been investigated by means of polarized photoluminescence, photoluminescence excitation and reflectivity in external magnetic fields up to 20 T. The spin splittings of the exciton X and the negatively charged exciton X ⁻ are measured as a function of the magnetic field strength. The behavior of the magnetic-field-induced polarization degree of the luminescence line related to X ⁻ demonstrates the formation process of negatively charged excitons from excitons and free carriers polarized by the external magnetic field. We have determined the binding energies of the trion formed either with the heavy-hole or the light-hole exciton. The optically detected magnetic resonance (ODMR) technique was applied for the first time to study the optical transition processes in a nanosecond timescale. The electron ODMR was observed with the detection on either the direct exciton or the negatively charged exciton X. Further evidence for the interaction of excitons with the electrons of the two-dimensional gas are demonstrated by a combined exciton-cyclotron resonance line observed in reflectivity and luminescence excitation, shake-up processes observed in photoluminescence, as well as inelastic and spin-dependent scattering processes. Fiz. Tverd. Tela (St. Petersburg) 41, 831–836 (May 1999) Published in English in the original Russian journal. Reproduced here with stylistic changes by the Translation Editor.     

Intersubband absorption in highly photoexcited semiconductor quantum wells

Transient mid infrared (MIR) absorption spectroscopy is used to investigate transitions between higher electronic subbands in semiconductor quantum well (QW) structures after interband photoexcitation with intense picosecond pulses in the visible spectral range. Our investigation focuses on the e₂–e₃ intersubband transition in an asymmetric undoped GaAs/AlGaAs QW structure. At an injected nonequilibrium carrier density of 1×10¹³ cm⁻²/QW, an e₂–e₃ absorption band at 99 meV with a spectral width of 5 meV is found. For a higher density studied, 3×10¹³ cm⁻²/QW, the band is broadened and blueshifted by 30 meV. Intersubband absorption signals are distinguished from free-carrier absorption signals in the MIR by their characteristic time behavior.