Intervalley electron scattering by phonons in (AlAs)1(GaAs)3(001) superlattices

Intervalley electron scattering by phonons in (AlAs)₁(GaAs)₃(001) superlattices is studied using the pseudopotential method and a phenomenological model of the bonding forces. The deformation potentials between the conduction band extrema of the superlattice involving short-and long-wavelength phonons are calculated. It is shown that the mixing of states from the zinc-blende L valleys plays a greater role in intervalley scattering in a superlattice than the Γ-X mixing. In particular, due to L-L mixing, the Γ-X ₃ transitions, analogous to Γ-L transitions in zinc blende, have higher intensities than the analogues of Γ-X transitions (Γ₁-M ₅ and (Γ₁-Γ₃ transitions). The deformation potentials averaged over the scattering channels in the superlattice agree with the corresponding potentials in a solid solution, but all transitions in the superlattice have higher intensities for the lower states.     

Temperature dependent photoluminescence processes in ZnO thin films grown on sapphire by pulsed laser deposition

Temperature dependence of the photoluminescence (PL) transitions in the range of 10–300 K was studied for ZnO thin films grown on sapphire by pulsed laser deposition. The low temperature PL spectra were dominated by recombination of donor bound excitons (B_X) and their phonon replicas. With increasing temperature, free exciton (F_X) PL and the associated LO phonon replicas increased in intensity at the expense of their bound counterparts. The B_X peak with line width of ∼6 meV at 10 K exhibited thermal activation energy of ∼17 meV, consistent with the exciton-defect binding energy. The separation between the F_X and B_X peak positions was found to reduce with increasing temperature, which was attributed to the transformation of B_X into the shallower donor bound exciton complexes at consecutive lower energy states with increasing temperature, which are possible in ZnO. The energy separation between F_X peak and its corresponding 1-LO phonon replica showed stronger dependence on temperature than that of 2-LO phonon replica. However, their bound counterparts did not exhibit this behavior. The observed temperature dependence of the energy separation between the free exciton and it is LO phonon replicas are explained by considering the kinetic energy of free exciton. The observed PL transitions and their temperature dependence are consistent with observations made with bulk ZnO crystals implying high crystalline and optical quality of the grown films.     

超强磁场下非掺杂ZnSe/BeTe Ⅱ型量子阱中激子和带电激子的光学特性

报道了液态氦温度(4.2 K)下非掺杂ZnSe/BeTe Ⅱ型量子结构中ZnSe势阱层内空间直接光致发光(PL)光谱的磁场依赖性(磁场高达53 T).实验结果显示,随着磁场的增加,激子和带电激子的PL强度呈现出相反的振动行为.当激子的PL强度增加时带电激子的PL强度减小,反之,当激子的强度减小时带电激子的强度却增加.并且在整个磁场范围内,这些振动呈现近似等间隔的周期性变化.这个行为被解释为费米能级与朗道能级的周期性共振,这个共振导致了处于费米能级上的二维电子气态密度的周期性调制. 关键词： 光致发光 二维电子气 带电激子 Ⅱ型量子阱     

Excitonic transitions in GaAs---GaAlAs superlattices under a weak electric field

We report a study of the photoluminescence spectra of GaAs---Ga_0.65Al_0.35As superlattice under an electric field of about 10 kVcm⁻¹, from 9 K up to 80 K; the ratio of the intensities of the −1 and 0 peaks of the Wannier-Stark ladder varies with the temperature T. To fit these variations, we assume for both transitions, a trapped exciton density of states with a gaussian distribution of eigenenergies, and a two dimensional density of states for free excitons. We show that above about 50 K there is a thermal equilibrium between direct and crossed free excitons whereas at low temperatures, the equilibrium statistics are not respected: the excitons trap into the direct state rather than to the crossed one.     

Indirect exciton dispersion in III–V semiconductors: “Camel's back” in GaP

A new perturbation approach to exciton dispersion in indirect gap semiconductors is developed. For GaP and AlSb existence of the “camel's back” in exciton dispersion is confirmed, and a precise value of the “camel's back” parameter for X^c₁-minima in GaP is reported: E(X^c₁)?E_min(Δ^c₁)=3.5±0.3 meV. At the X-point the 21.44 and 19.48 meV exciton binding energies in GaP are obtained. The corresponding valley-anisotropy splitting is 1.96 meV.     

Excited states of the negatively charged exciton X−in wide CdTe/CdZnTe quantum wells

A magneto-optical study of ≈350 Å wide CdTe/CdZnTe quantum wells containing an electron gas is presented. For undoped structures the absorption spectra show lines associated with centre-of-mass quantization of the exciton in the wide CdTe well. Modulation-doped structures show absorption lines corresponding to the creation of the negatively charged exciton X⁻(two electrons, one hole). We observe not just the ground state of X⁻butalsoa series of lines which are attributed to higher states of X⁻where an electron is attached to the centre of mass quantized states of the exciton.     

Magnetic field-induced type I → type II transition in a semimagnetic CdTeCd0.93Mn0.07Te superlattice

Magneto-photoluminescence and photoluminescence excitation spectroscopy experiments are performed up to 5 Teslas at 1.7 K on a 〈111〉 grown CdTe/Cd_0.93Mn_0.07Te superlattice. The results are compared with calculations of the energy levels and of the exciton binding energies, including field-induced negative offsets. A type I → type II transition is evidenced near 2 Teslas and a value of 15–20% of the bandgap energy difference is deduced for the valence band offset.     

Resonance reflection of light from two-dimensional superlattice structures

The exciton Bloch states in a quantum well with a two-dimensional periodic potential are studied theoretically. Expressions are derived for the light reflection coefficient and the exciton oscillator strength for a structure with this type of lateral superlattice. The redistribution of the oscillator strength between exciton states with varying period and depth of the potential is analyzed. The limiting cases where the nearly free exciton and tight-binding approximations are applicable are considered.     

A “superlattice” model for a smooth GaAs/AlAs (001) heterointerface

The effect of a smooth interface potential on the electronic states in GaAs/AlAs (001) structures is investigated using the pseudopotential method. In this approach, the transition region between GaAs and AlAs is assumed to be a layer corresponding to a half-period of the (AlAs)₂(GaAs)₂ superlattice, with the potential of this layer being close to the real potential near the heterointerface. In this case, the intervalley mixing occurs at two boundaries and in the transition layer rather than at one boundary, as in the model with a sharply cut-off potential. It is shown that a smooth potential has an appreciable effect on electron tunneling in structures with thin layers. This effect is especially important in the case where short-wavelength X states are involved. For one GaAs/AlAs (001) boundary, the transition layer acts as a quantum well localizing the charge density of a mixed Γ-X state near the boundary. In structures with a layer thickness of less than 2 nm, the differences in the resonance energies obtained in the models with a smooth heterointerface and with a sharp heterointerface can be as high as ～0.1 eV. The envelopes of the wave functions associated with Γ ₁ ⁽¹⁾ , Γ ₁ ⁽²⁾ , and Γ ₃ ⁽¹⁾ superlattice valleys and with Γ₁, X ₁, and X ₃ valleys of GaAs and AlAs are analyzed. It is shown that the matching matrices for the envelope functions at the GaAs/(AlAs)₂(GaAs)₂ and (AlAs)₂(GaAs)₂/AlAs boundaries depend only weakly on the electron energy near the bottom of the conduction band and that the probability densities calculated using these functions agree with the results of many-band calculations. Therefore, these functions can be used to construct a model with a smooth interface potential in the framework of the effective-mass method.     

Binding energies of negatively charged excitons in quantum disks

The Hamiltonian of a negatively charged exciton X⁻ (trion) in a quantum disk with parabolic confinement has been diagonalized to obtain the binding eigenenergy values of the L1 states as a function of the electron-to-hole effective mass ratio and the disk radius. It is found that a negatively charged exciton X⁻ in a quantum disk may have the second bound state with orbital angular momentum L=1 and the triplet state of the two bound electrons.     

Electric-field effects on photoluminescence properties in a GaAs/AlAs marginal type-I superlattice

We have investigated the electric-field effects on the cw and time-resolved photoluminescence (PL) properties in a marginal type-I GaAs/AlAs superlattice (SL) whose lowest X state (X₁) is situated in the lowest Γ(Γ₁) miniband. In the low bias voltage regime, the PL spectra reveal the transition between type-I and type-II radiative recombination processes caused by Wannier–Stark localization. In contrast, in the high bias voltage regime, the decay time of the time-resolved PL is prolonged. This is because of delayed carrier transport caused by Γ–X transfer. From these results, it was found that marginal type-I SLs present various interesting phenomena that originate from the competitive carrier transport among the Γ miniband, the localized Γ Stark–ladder states, and the X₁ state.     

Indirect exciton absorption and Raman scattering in GaAs-AlGaAs superlattices

Longitudinal optic (LO) phonon assisted indirect exciton creation (X_LO), hot carrier relaxation ((e-h)_LO) and Raman scattering phenomena are reported in the optical spectra of GaAs-AlGaAs superlattices. Structures of the same dimensions both with and without double heterostructure confining barriers are studied. For the structures without confining barriers, continuum transitions are suppressed in photoluminescence excitation (PLE) spectra, and as a result the X_LO, (e-h)_LO and Raman peaks are observed. The X_LO absorption peaks are identified from the observation of a clear threshold in PLE at ℏω_LO (36.4 meV) above the heavy hole exciton peak. The intensity of X_LO is a maximum at 6 meV above the threshold, probably due to dissociation into free carriers at the exciton binding energy (6meV) above ℏω_LO. The influence of non-radiative processes on incoherent (PLE) and coherent (Raman) processes is compared.     

The gallium-site donors germanium and silicon in gallium phosphide

The node in the Bloch part of the electron wave function expected for a Ga-site donor in GaP removes the usual valley-orbit splitting and associated chemical shift. However, the T₂ ground state can still show a small spin-valley splitting into Γ₈ and Γ₇ states, as previously verified for the Sn donor. We find that the optical properties of the Ge and Si donors deviate appreciably from this “normal” behaviour. The Ge donor is anomalously deep, E_D ～ 202 meV, yet binds an exciton by ～63 meV consistent with the Haynes rule for neutral donors in GaP. We find that this exciton possesses the large oscillator strength, f～3.5 × 10^-3, Zeeman and piezo-optical splittings characteristic of a Γ₆, 1s(A₁) ground state, like a P rather than Ga-site donor. However, f and the exciton localization energy are consistent with expectation for E_D ～ 200 meV, as measured from the lowest set of X conduction band minima, if we assume a symmetric A₁-like wave function. A possible explanation for this unexpected result is advanced. The much shallower Si donor, E_D～82 meV, binds an exciton by only ～ 14 meV, also consistent with the Haynes rule. By contrast, we find this Ga-site donor to be normal except that our Zeeman and piezo-optical results indicate an inverted spin-valley splitting, about 25% of that for the still shallower Sn donor. We also discuss the numerous low-lying excited states, some anomalous phonon replicas in the Ge and Si donor bound exciton spectra and the magneto-optical properties of a sharp line near 2.24 eV, attributed to the decay of excitons bound to (S)_p-(Ge)_p donor-acceptor associates.     

The coexistence of zone and self-localized exciton states in vibronic spectra of nitrogen cryocrystals

The shape of bands and their evolution along the vibronic progression of the exciton resonances in the VUV spectra are correlated for nitrogen in its own lattice and in argon matrix. The fact that in solid nitrogen the zone states make a contribution to the formation of a¹II_g ← X¹Σ⁺_g and w¹Δ_u ← X¹Δ⁺_g progression vibrons is supported by the experimental results. The exciton-phonon interaction is treated in terms of the model of coexistence of zone and self-localized states. The role of optical and acoustic modes is discussed and the main parameters of exciton-phonon coupling are estimated.     

CdSSe quantum dots: effect of the hydrogen RF plasma treatment on exciton luminescence

This work deals with effective passivation of CdS_XSe_1−X quantum dot surface after treating it by low-temperature hydrogen RF plasma. An enhancement of the exciton luminescence was observed, which can be interpreted as consequence of a decreasing number of surface non-radiative traps.     

Polaritons in anisotropic semiconductors

We show how to compute the optical properties (reflection and absorption) of anisotropic semiconductors in the exciton energy region, taking into account polariton and electron-hole coherence effects. The method is applied to a GaAs/Ga_1–x Al _x As superlattice, and the modifications in the optical properties with respect to GaAs are related to the anisotropy.     

Three-photon absorption coefficients in ZnSe/ZnS0.18Se0.82 strained-layer superlattices

Summary We provide the first experimental determination of three-photon absorption (ThPA) coefficients α⁽³⁾ in a quasi-bidimensional structure. The measurements of α⁽³⁾ have been performed on a sample of a ZnSe/ZnS_0.18Se_0.82 strainedlayer superlattice at fixed excitation energies corresponding to the exciton resonances near the direct band gap. The evidence of the ThPA process in such energy range points out the huge enhancement of exciton non-linearities in quantum-confined systems.     

Contact-induced magnetism in nanostructures based on chromium with nonmagnetic metal monolayers

Magnetic ordering is studied in Cr/X (1 ML) layer structures with monatomic layers (ML) of nonmagnetic metals (X = Sn, V, Ag, Au) incorporated into a chromium matrix. The mechanism associated with a redistribution of the charge and spin densities near the Cr/X interface and through which a spin-density wave (SDW) is induced and modified in these systems is analyzed. A semiphenomenological model is considered in detail in terms of which SDW structure near a single planar nonmagnetic defect can be described qualitatively using the Ginzburg-Landau functional. The spatial SDW configuration in a [Cr(t/X(1 ML)] superlattice is calculated, and the dependences of the SDW parameters on the temperature T, type of metal X, and superlattice period t are established. Based on the results of the study, experimental Mössbauer spectroscopy data are interpreted.     

Donor-like excited states of exciton bound to neutral acceptor in ZnTe

Photoexcitation spectroscopy has been used to study the excited states of the neutral c-acceptor bound exciton complex A^c₁ in ZnTe. We have detected four excited states at ～ 11.2 meV above the bound exciton ground state. Zeeman effects on these excited states have also been studied. The results show that they correspond to excitations of the bound electron to donor-like 2p and 2s orbital states. This represents an unambiguous experimental evidence of the pseudo-donor model previously suggested by Rühle and Bimberg for acceptor bound exciton complexes when m_e ? m_h.     

Shallow impurity states and the free exciton binding energy in gallium phosphide

A new set of donor and acceptor ionization energies in GaP is deduced from photoexcitation spectra. Energy spectrum of donor states confirms an existence of the “camel's back” with a conduction band minima displacement ≈ 0.08(2π/a) from the X, and the corresponding energy shift ≈ 3meV. The free exciton binding energy in GaP is correctly determined: E_ex = 21 ± 2 meV.