Excited state absorptions of an exciton bound to an ionized donor impurity in quantum dots

An investigation of an exciton bound in a parabolic two dimensional quantum dot by a donor impurity has been carried out by using the matrix diagonalization method and the compact density-matrix approach. The linear, third-order nonlinear, total optical absorption coefficients and refractive index changes have been calculated for the s-p, p-d, and d-f transitions. The results show that the parabolic potential has a great effect on the optical absorptions. The calculated results also reveal that as the angular momentum quantum numbers of transitions increase, the optical absorption and refractive index peaks shift towards lower energies and the absorption and refractive index intensities increase.     

Nonlinear optical properties of an exciton bound to an ionized donor impurity in quantum dots

In this study, a detailed investigation of the nonlinear optical properties of the (D⁺,X) complex in a disc-like parabolic quantum dot has been carried out by using the matrix diagonalization method and the compact density-matrix approach. First, the numeric calculations and analysis of the oscillator strength of intersubband quantum transition from the ground state into the first excited state at the varying confinement frequency have been performed. Second, the linear, third-order nonlinear, and total absorption coefficients and refractive indices have been investigated. It is observed that the confinement frequency of QDs and the intensity of the illumination have drastic effects on the nonlinear optical properties. In addition, we find that all kinds of absorption coefficients and refractive indices of an exciton in QDs shift to lower energies and their peak values have considerably decreases induced by the impurity.     

Binding energy of an exciton bound to ionized donors in quantum dots

Binding energies for an exciton (X) trapped in the two-dimensional quantum dot by a positive ion located on the z axis at a distance d from the dot plane are calculated by using the method of few-body physics. This configuration is called a barrier (D⁺,X) center. The dependence of the binding energy of the ground state of the barrier (D⁺,X) center on the dot radius for a few values of the distance d between the fixed positive ion on the z axis and the dot plane is obtained. We find that when d<0.2nm the barrier (D⁺,X) center does not form a bound state.     

Stark shift and dissociation process of an ionized donor bound exciton in spherical quantum dots

The effect of an electric field on the ground state energy of an exciton bound to an ionized donor (D⁺, X) was studied in CdSe spherical quantum dots where quantum confinement is described by an infinitly deep potential. Calculations have been performed in the framework of the effective mass approximation using a variational method by choosing an appropriate sixty-terms wave function taking into account different interparticles correlations and symetry distorsion induced by the electric field. It appears that the Stark shift is significant even for low fields and depends strongly of spherical dot sizes. The competition between the confinement effect and the Stark effect is discussed as function of the spherical dot size and the applied electric field strength. The (D⁺, X) Stark shift is estimated and its behavior is discussed as a function of the dot radius and electric field strength. The electron and hole average distances have also been calculated and the role of the ionized donor in the excitonic dissociation is established.     

Coulombic bound states in semiconductor quantum wells

Recent theoretical works on Coulombic bound states in semiconductor quantum wells (Q.W.) are reviewed. Due to carrier confinement along the growth axis the bound impurity or exciton states display enhanced binding energies over the bulk values. The presence of free carriers in modulation-doped quantum wells decreases the impurity binding energies. However the quasi-bidimensionality of the carrier motion prevents a complete vanishing of impurity bound states. The photoluminescence line of high-quality quantum well is often Stokes-shifted with respect to the absorption or excitation spectra. This Stokes shift can be correlated with interface defects in a qualitative fashion.     

Polaron effects on the binding energy of a double donor impurity in quantum wells in an electric field

The binding energy of the single and double bound polaron bound to a helium-type donor impurity in quantum wells (QWs) subject to a perpendicular electric field are calculated by a variational method. The couplings of an electron and the impurity with various phonon modes are considered. The results show that the cumulative effects of the electron–phonon coupling and the impurity–phonon coupling can contribute appreciably to the binding energy for the single bound polaron but only in some severe conditions for the double bound polaron. They also show that the binding energy is sensitive to the electric field strength. The comparison between the binding energies in the case of the impurity placed at the quantum well center and at the quantum well edge is also given.     

Bound and virtual bound states in semiconductor quantum wells

The bound and virtual bound (resonant) levels of GaAs-Ga(Al)As double quantum wells are calculated within the framework of the envelope function approach. The theoretical work, taken together with the results of excitation spectroscopy measurements, indicates the participation of a light hole virtual bound state in an optical transition.     

The donor bound exciton states in wurtzite GaN quantum dot

Based on the effective mass approximation, the donor bound exciton states in a wurtzite (WZ) GaN/AlGaN quantum dot (QD) are investigated by means of a variational method, including the strong built-in electric field effect due to the spontaneous and piezoelectric polarizations. Numerical results show that the donor bound exciton binding energy is highly dependent on the impurity position and QD size. In particular, we find that the donor bound exciton binding energy is insensitive to dot height when the impurity is located at the right boundary of the WZ GaN/AlGaN QD with large dot height.     

Effects of an intense, high-frequency laser field on the intersubband transitions and impurity binding energy in semiconductor quantum wells

Within the framework of effective-mass approximation, using a variational method, the effect of high-frequency laser field on intersubband transitions and the binding energy of shallow-donor impurities in a semiconductor quantum well are investigated. We have found that the increase of the laser-dressing parameter leads to important effects on the electronic and optical properties of a quantum well. This gives a new degree of freedom in various device applications based on the intersubband transition of electrons.     

Ground state energies of bound exciton for all mass ratios

We report on a calculation of the ground state energy of bound excitons using states from a model Hamiltonian and correcting the variational results by treating the difference between the model and actual Hamiltonian in second order perturbation theory. The resulting procedure is valid for all mass ratios.     

Self-consistent approach for calculations of exciton binding energy in quantum wells

We introduce a computationally efficient approach to calculating characteristics of excitons in quantum wells. In this approach we derive a system of self-consistent equations describing the motion of an electron–hole pair. The motion in the growth direction of the quantum well in this approach is separated from the in-plane motion, but each of them occurs in modified potentials found self-consistently. The approach is applied to shallow quantum wells, for which we obtained an analytical expression for the exciton binding energy and the ground state eigenfunction. Our numerical results yield lower exciton binding energies in comparison to standard variational calculations, while require reduced computational effort.     

Electronic energy levels in semiconductor quantum wells and superlattices

We present the results of the calculations of some electronic properties of semiconductor quantum wells and superlattices. The review includes the superlattice band structure and the quantum well bound energy levels; the virtual bound states of semiconductor quantum wells and their influence on the energy spectrum of separate confinement heterostructures. Finally the perturbation of quantum well bound states and exciton states by a static electric field applied parallel to the growth axis is considered.     

Formation of islands of condensed exciton phases in semiconductor quantum wells in inhomogeneous fields

The appearance and properties of the structures in the density distribution of indirect excitons in a quantum well plane in semiconductors in an electric field have been studied for the case where a metallic electrode has a circular orifice. It has been shown that the inhomogeneous structures in the exciton density (islands and rings with an increased exciton density) appear, because the condensed exciton phase is present and the system is nonequilibrium due both to the finiteness of the exciton lifetime and to pumping. The dependences of the structure on the system parameters (window sizes, temperature, and pumping intensity) are in agreement with the experimental results reported by A.V. Gorbunov and V.B. Timofeev, Pis’ma Zh. Éksp. Teor. Fiz. 83, 178 (2006) [JETP Lett. 83, 146 (2006)]; Usp. Fiz. Nauk 176, 652 (2006) [Phys. Usp. 49, 629 (2006)]; Pis’ma Zh. Éksp. Teor. Fiz. 84, 390 (2006) [JETP Lett. 84, 329 (2006)].