New method for detection of exciton Bose condensation using stimulated two-photon emission

An investigation is reported of stimulated two-photon emission by Bose-condensed excitons accompanied by a coherent two-exciton recombination, i.e., by simultaneous recombination of two excitons with opposite momenta leaving unchanged the occupation numbers of exciton states with momenta p≠0. Raman light scattering (RLS) accompanied by a similar two-exciton recombination (or production of two excitons) is also analyzed. The processes under consideration can occur only if a system contains Bose condensate, so their detection can be used as a new method to reveal Bose condensation of excitons. The recoil momentum, which corresponds to a change in the momentum of the electromagnetic field in the processes, is transferred to phonons or impurities. If the recoil momentum is transmitted to optical phonons with frequency ω ₀ ^s , whose occupation numbers are negligible, and the incident light frequency satisfies ω<2Ω, where Ω_=Ω−ω ₀ ^s is the difference frequency and Ω is the light frequency corresponding to the recombination of an exciton with zero momentum, stimulated two-photon emission and RLS with coherent two-exciton recombination give rise to a line at 2Ω_ −ω and an anti-Stokes component at ω+2Ω_, respectively. For ω2Ω_ the RLS spectrum contains Stokes and anti-Stokes components at frequencies ω±2Ω_, whereas stimulated two-photon emission is impossible. Formulas for the cross sections at finite temperatures are obtained for the processes under consideration. Our estimates indicate that a spectral line at 2Ω_−ω, corresponding to the stimulated two-photon emission accompanied by coherent optical phonon-assisted two-exciton recombination can be experimentally detected in Cu₂O. Zh. éksp. Teor. Fiz. 115, 1353–1376 (April 1999)     

Mixing of excitonic states containing light and heavy holes in an isolated GaAs/AlGaAs quantum well in a magnetic field

The Zeeman splitting of the ground states 1s(hh) and 1s(lh) of excitons with heavy and light holes, respectively, in a 15-nm isolated Al_0.3Ga_0.7As/GaAs quantum well in magnetic fields of up to 20 T is investigated according to the photoluminescence excitation spectra in the Faraday geometry (σ⁺− σ⁻ components). The observed anomalous pattern of nonlinear Zeeman splitting and the nonmonotonic behavior of the effective hole g factor are interpreted in terms of the strong mixing of the magnetoexcitonic states containing light and heavy holes. Pis'ma Zh. éksp. Teor. Fiz. 64, No. 1, 52–56 (10 July 1996)     

Fermi resonance of optical one-phonon and acoustic two-phonon vibrations in light metals

It is shown that the anharmonicity of crystal lattice vibrations in light metals such as beryllium, can give rise to a Fermi resonance of optical one-phonon and acoustic two-phonon vibrations. New hybridized vibrational states are formed as a result of such a resonance interaction: biphonon and quasibiphonon vibrations and renormalized optical vibrations. Depending on the wave vector, these vibrational states can be both damped and stationary. The corresponding dispersion equation is obtained, whose solution made it possible to determine the spectrum of these vibrations (dispersion curves and the wave vector dependence of the damping for damped vibrations). It is shown that ultrafast damping of optical vibrations, similar to the well-known superradiance effect for Frenkel’ and Wannier-Mott excitons, is possible. Fiz. Tverd. Tela (St. Petersburg) 39, 542–546 (March 1997)     

Optical orientation of donor-bound excitons in nanosized InP/InGaP islands

Spin splitting of optically active and inactive excitons in nanosized n-InP/InGaP islands has been revealed. Optically inactive states become manifest in polarized-luminescence spectra as a result of excitons being bound to neutral donors (or of the formation of the trion, a negatively charged exciton) in InP islands. The exchange-splitting energies of the optically active and inactive states have been determined. Fiz. Tverd. Tela (St. Petersburg) 40, 1745–1752 (September 1998)     

Anharmonicity of Bloch oscillations in GaAs/AlAs superlattices in the case of inhomogeneously broadened excitonic states in a weak electric field

The variation of the spectral shape of the four-wave mixing signal in GaAs/AlGaAs superlattices was studied experimentally and theoretically. It was shown that in an external electric field, leading to anti-crossing of the levels of heavy and light excitons, sawtooth oscillations of the energy position of the levels are observed. These oscillations are due to the inhomogeneous broadening of the states participating in the Bloch oscillations. Pis’ma Zh. éksp. Teor. Fiz. 67, No. 10, 820–825 (25 May 1998)     

Toward a theory of light absorption by excitons in quantum-well structures

A theory of light absorption by excitons in periodic structures with an arbitrary number of quantum wells is constructed. It is shown that the temperature dependence of the frequency-integrated absorption characteristics is due to a competition between the processes of dissipative decay of quasi-two-dimensional excitons and the light-exciton interaction. Fiz. Tverd. Tela (St. Petersburg) 40, 824–826 (May 1998)     

Manifestation of near-surface localized excitons in spectra of diffuse reflection of light

The interaction of excitons with rough surfaces and its effect on light scattering spectra were investigated theoretically. We have employed a model for the excitonic surface potential based upon the generalized Morse potential, taking into account its random fluctuations produced by the surface roughness. Applying first-order perturbation theory, we calculate the cross section of light scattering from a rough GaAs surface and analyze its frequency dependence in the presence of an extrinsic surface-potential well with excitonic bound states. Fiz. Tverd. Tela (St. Petersburg) 40, 865–866 (May 1998) Published in English in the original Russian journal. Reproduced here with stylistic changes by the Translation Editor.     

Excitonic state in quantum wells formed from “above-barrier” electronic states

Lines corresponding to localized excitonic states formed from “above-barrier” electron and/or hole states (specifically, excitation lines of excitons formed by an electron localized in a QW and a free heavy hole) have been observed in the photoluminescence excitation spectra of GaAs/Al_0.05Ga_0.95As structures with quantum wells (QWs), each containing one single-particle size-quantization level for charge carriers of each type. A computational method is proposed that permits finding the binding energy and wave functions of excitons in QWs taking the Coulomb potential into account self-consistently. The computed values of the excitonic transition energies agree quite well with the experimental results. Pis’ma Zh. éksp. Teor. Fiz. 70, No. 9, 613–619 (10 November 1999)     

Interaction between the exciton and nuclear spin systems in a self-organized ensemble of InP/InGaP size-quantized islands

Magnetic interaction between spin-polarized nuclei and optically oriented excitons in a self-organized ensemble of size-quantized InP islands in an InGaP matrix has been studied in a magnetic field in Faraday geometry. The effective magnetic fields generated by polarized nuclei at excitons have been measured. The strengths of these fields were found to be different for active and inactive excitons because of the difference between the excitonic g factors. The heavy-hole g factor has been determined. The active and inactive excitonic states were found to be coupled through cross-relaxation. Fiz. Tverd. Tela (St. Petersburg) 41, 2193–2199 (December 1999)     

Direct and spatially indirect excitons in GaAs/AlGaAs superlattices in strong magnetic fields

Luminescence and luminescence excitation spectra are used to study the energy spectrum and binding energies of direct and spatially indirect excitons in GaAs/AlGaAs superlattices having different electron and hole miniband widths in high magnetic fields perpendicular to the heterolayers. The ground state of the indirect excitons formed by electrons and holes which are spatially distributed among neighboring quantum wells is found to lie between the ground 1s state of the direct excitons and the threshold of the continuum of dissociated exciton states in the minibands. The indirect excitons have a substantial oscillator strength when the binding energy of the exciton exceeds the scale of the width of the resulting miniband. It is shown that a high magnetic field shifts a system of symmetrically bound quantum wells toward weaker bonding. At high exciton concentrations, spatially indirect excitons are converted into direct excitons through exciton-exciton collisions. Fiz. Tverd. Tela (St. Petersburg) 40, 833–836 (May 1998)     

Dynamic self-polarization of nuclei in low-dimensional systems

A mechanism of dynamic self-polarization of nuclei is studied which is weakly temperature-dependent and operates efficiently in low-dimensional systems (quantum wells, quantum dots). It is due to the hyperfine interaction of nuclei with excitons whose spin polarization is artificially maintained at zero (by illuminating with unpolarized light) but for which nonequilibrium alignment occurs. Nuclear self-polarization arises as a result of the conversion of the alignment of excitons into nuclear orientation in the effective magnetic field of the polarized nuclei. Pis’ma Zh. éksp. Teor. Fiz. 70, No. 2, 124–129 (25 July 1999)     

Luminescence spectra produced by exciton relaxation at local magnetization fluctuations in semimagnetic semiconductors

An analysis is made of the exciton angular-momentum alignment along a fluctuation in local magnetization, which is the first stage in evolution of the localized-exciton spin state in a semimagnetic semiconductor. It is shown that spin relaxation of localized excitons subjected to resonant optical excitation is accompanied by their relaxation in energy. When excited by polarized light, this process gives rise to an anisotropic angular-momentum distribution in the spectrum of final exciton states and, hence, to polarization of the secondary luminescence. Luminescence spectra of a cubic crystal are calculated, and the possibility of their experimental observation discussed. Fiz. Tverd. Tela (St. Petersburg) 40, 2156–2160 (December 1998)     

Raman spectroscopy of resonance exciton tunneling in GaAs/AlAs superlattices in electric fields

Optical-resonance-Raman scattering by acoustic phonons is used to study the effect of an electric field on the state of excitons in GaAs/AlAs superlattices. When the energy of the exciting photon coincides with the energy of an exciton bound to Wannier-Stark states of a heavy hole and electron with Δn=0,±1, the acoustic Raman scattering is enhanced. Oscillations in the intensity of the Raman spectrum in the electric field are explained by resonance delocalization of the exciton ground state as it interacts with Wannier-Stark states of neighboring quantum wells or with Wannier-Stark states of a higher electron miniband. Fiz. Tverd. Tela (St. Petersburg) 40, 827–829 (May 1998)     

Propagation of quasi-two dimensional exciton polaritons in a quantum well waveguide

The propagation of exciton polaritons in an optical waveguide with a quantum well is studied. Spatial dispersion of the excitons causes the wave vector of the exciton polaritons to split between waveguide and exciton modes at resonance. The magnitude of this splitting is determined by the radiative decay parameter of excitons with corresponding polarization in the quantum well. The group velocity of the waveguide exciton polaritons in the resonance region can be three or four orders of magnitude lower than the speed of light in vacuum. Fiz. Tverd. Tela (St. Petersburg) 40, 362–365 (February 1998)     

Exciton-exciton collisions and conversion of interwell excitons in GaAs/AlGaAs superlattices

The ratio of the densities of intra-and interwell excitons in a symmetric system of coupled quantum wells — a superlattice based on a GaAs/AlGaAs heterostructure — is investigated over a wide range of optical excitation power densities. Conversion of interwell excitons into intrawell excitons as a result of exciton-exciton collisions is observed at high exciton densities. Direct evidence for such a conversion mechanism is the square-root dependence of the interwell exciton density on the optical excitation level. The decrease in the lifetime of interwell excitons with increasing excitation density, as measured directly by time-resolved spectroscopy methods, confirms the explanation proposed for the effect. Pis’ma Zh. éksp. Teor. Fiz. 65, No. 8, 623–628 (25 April 1997)     

Drag effects in a two-layer system of spatially separated electrons and excitons

We discuss drag effects in a two-layer system of spatially separated electrons and excitons: the entrainment of excitons by moving electrons, and the entrainment of electrons by moving excitons. For the case of excitons entrained by electrons we find the drag velocity υ _drag, and for electrons entrained by excitons we compute the induced electric field E ₂. These drag effects can be sensitive indicators of the phase state of the excitons and of phase transitions in the exciton system (to a liquid phase, superfluid state, etc.) Zh. éksp. Teor. Fiz. 111, 1107–1119 (March 1997)     

Direct and spatially indirect excitons in GaAs/AlGaAs superlattices in strong magnetic fields

Luminescence and luminescence excitation spectra are used to study the energy spectrum and binding energies of direct and spatially indirect excitons in GaAs/AlaAs superlattices, with different widths of the electron and hole minibands, located in a high magnetic field perpendicular to the heterolayers. It is found that the ground state of the indirect excitons formed by electrons and holes and spatially separated between neighboring quantum wells lies between the ls ground state of the direct excitons and the continuum threshold for dissociated exciton states in the minibands. Indirect excitons in superlattices have a significant oscillator strength when the binding energy of the exciton exceeds the order of the width of the resulting miniband. The behavior of the binding energy of direct and indirect heavy hole excitons during changes in the tunneling coupling between the quantum wells is established. It is shown that a strong magnetic field, which intensifies the Coulomb interaction between the electron and hole in an exciton, weakens the bond in a system of symmetrically bound quantum wells. The spatially indirect excitons studied here are analogous to first order Wannier-Stark localized excitons in superlattices with inclined bands (when an electrical bias is applied), but in the present case the localization is of purely Coulomb origin. Zh. éksp. Teor. Fiz. 112, 1106–1118 (September 1997)     

Photoinduced light absorption by C60 films in the 0.08–4.0-eV spectral range

Spectra of photoinduced light absorption in C₆₀ films at high and low excitations in the temperature range between 15 and 300 K have been measured. In addition to the well-known explanation of photoinduced absorption in terms of optical transitions in the system of photogenerated singlet excitons, triplet excitons, and polarons, changes in the absorption spectrum of the fullerite ground state must be considered. We suggest taking into account the effect of crystal field in explaining the features of the photoinduced absorption spectrum. A feature similar to the inverted luminescence spectrum and ascribed to optical excitation of singlet excitons, which is partially allowed owing to intermolecular interaction, has been detected in spectrum of photoinduced absorption. Zh. éksp. Teor. Fiz. 112, 246–256 (July 1997)     

Phase transition to the conducting state in a system of charge-transfer excitons at a donor-acceptor interface

We discuss the phase transition to the conducting state in a system of 2D charge-transfer excitons (CTEs) at a donor-acceptor interface. The phase transition arises due to strong dipole-dipole repulsion between CTEs which stimulates the population of free carriers in higher energy states even at low temperature. We use the computer simulations with the random distribution of excitons, with finite lifetime explicitly taken into account. The critical concentration of CTEs and their energy distribution are calculated. We also discuss the possibility of observing the predicted phenomena. Fiz. Tverd. Tela (St. Petersburg) 41, 781–784 (May 1999) Published in English in the original Russian journal. Reproduced here with stylistic changes by the Translation Editor.     

Trions in quantum-well structures with two-dimensional electron gas

A study has been made of bound exciton-electron complexes (trions) and unbound exciton-electron states (combined exciton-cyclotron resonance) from reflectance spectra obtained from modulation-doped CdTe/CdMgTe quantum-well structures. It has been established that the contribution of trions to dielectric permittivity is comparable to that of excitons. An analysis is made of the magnetic-field dependence of the parameters describing the contribution to dielectric permittivity due to exciton-cyclotron-resonance states. Fiz. Tverd. Tela (St. Petersburg) 40, 813–815 (May 1998)