High-field transport in an electron-hole plasma: transition from ballistic to drift motion

The time evolution of high-field carrier transport in bulk GaAs is studied with intense femtosecond THz pulses. While ballistic transport of electrons occurs in an n-type sample, a transition from ballistic to driftlike motion is observed in an electron-hole plasma. This onset of friction is due to the holes, which are heated by THz absorption. Theoretical calculations, which reproduce the data quantitatively, show that both electron-hole scattering and local-field effects in the electron-hole plasma are essential for the time-dependent friction.     

Impact-ionized electron-hole plasma instability in GaAs

The possibility of the excitation of impact-ionized electron-hole plasma oscillatory instability in GaAs with frequency up to 10¹² Hz is shown. The linear and nonlinear stages of the instability are investigated.     

Light scattering from nonequilibrium electron-hole plasma excited by picosecond laser pulses in GaAs

A picosecond dye laser is used to excite electron-hole plasma of density between 10¹⁸ to 10¹⁹ cm^-3 in GaAs. The plasma density and distribution function within ? 20 psec of excitation is probed by Raman scattering. The lineshape of the single particle excitation spectra of the plasma can be explained only by assuming that the electron distribution function is in nonthermal equilibrium.     

Instability of photoexcited electron-hole plasma in short semiconductor structures

The instability of the electron-hole plasma produced by continuous photoexcitation in short semiconductor structures is investigated theoretically. The applied electric field is considerably disturbed by photogenerated charge carriers. At a sufficiently intensive photogeneration plasma instability occurs. The frequency of current oscillations due to the instability, as shown by numerical simulation for a GaAs structure, is in the range of 10¹¹–10¹²s^–1.     

Coulomb effects on the gain and absorption spectra of the electron-hole plasma in GaAs

Many-body effects due to electron-hole (e-h) attraction and self-energy corrections are investigated on gain and absorption line shapes of degenerate e-h plasma in direct-gap semiconductors. It is demonstrated for GaAs that a large enhancement in experimental gain and absorption coefficients near crossover, which is not reproduced in single-particle treatments, is accounted for by the excitonic e-h interaction. The self-energy corrections, containing the renormalization due to e-e and e-phonon interactions, reduce the direct band gap in GaAs. Their weak $\text{k}$ dependence further improves agreement with experiment.     

Electron-hole plasma in pulse photoexcited single quantum wells

We report photoluminescence studies of MOCVD grown, GaAsAl_xGa_1?xAs single quantum wells which were intensly excited with a pulse dye laser at T=2K. For a well width of d～40Å, the spectra are interpreted as due to the radiative recombination of a hot electron-hole plasma confined to the well. The density of charge carriers and their temperature depend upon the excitation intensity, and vary in the range of 10¹¹–10¹³ cm^?2 and 100–500K for an absorbed photon flux of 10¹³–10¹⁶ photons-cm^?2 per pulse, respectively. The observed spectral features are identified as the e1-hh1 and e1-lh1 transitions and two additional bands which are tentatively assigned to transitions involving virtual bound states of either the electron or the hole. The electron-hole plasma spectra of the d～40Å sample are strongly polarized perpendicular to the well quantization axis. For wider wells (d～80 and 150Å) smaller photoexcited carrier densities were observed for the same absorbed photon flux. It is thus concluded that the capture efficiency of the well is small.     

Quasielastic scattering of light by a photoexcited electron-hole plasma induced in a GaAs layer in the presence of InAs quantum dots

The development of a method for registering quasielastic electronic light scattering spectra in the near-IR region, which makes it possible to detect light scattering by a photoexcited electron-hole plasma induced in a GaAs layer in the presence of a self-organized ensemble of InAs quantum dots, is reported. A substantial resonance intensification of such scattering, two orders of magnitude greater than the values established for the bulk material, is observed, and the main mechanism of such scattering is determined.     

Effect of interparticle interactions on radiative lifetime of photoexcited electron-hole system in GaAs quantum wells

The paper reports on an investigation of changes in the photoluminescence linewidth and lifetime of excitons and electron-hole plasma over a wide range of densities between 3×10⁷ and 3×10¹² cm⁻² at a temperature of 77 K in GaAs/AlGaAs quantum wells. The roles played by thermal ionization of excitons at low densities of nonequilibrium carriers, exciton-exciton and exciton-electron collisions, and ionization of excitons at high pumping power densities have been studied. Zh. éksp. Teor. Fiz. 112, 353–361 (July 1997)     

Large excitonic enhancement of optical refrigeration in semiconductors

We present a theoretical analysis for laser cooling of bulk GaAs based on a microscopic many-particle theory of absorption and luminescence of a partially ionized electron-hole plasma. Our cooling threshold analysis shows that, at low temperatures, the presence of the excitonic resonance in the luminescence is essential in competing against heating losses. The theory includes self-consistent energy renormalizations and line broadenings from both instantaneous mean-field and frequency-dependent carrier-carrier correlations, and it is applicable from the few-Kelvin regime to above room temperature.     

Picosecond luminescence spectroscopy of highly excited GaAs

Time resolved luminescence of highly excited GaAs is studied using a streak camera. We observe the Mott transition from the electron-hole plasma to the excitonic state. This transition is smooth and does not show a phase separation. The plasmon sideband of the electron-hole plasma emission is identified.     

Quasielastic light scattering in the near IR from photoexcited electron-hole plasma created in a GaAs layer with embedded InAs quantum dots

The paper reports the development of a high-sensitivity technique for measurement of inelastic electronic light-scattering spectra in the near-IR region, which are excited by a stable single-mode cw YAG:Nd laser operating at 1064.4-nm. This technique has permitted detection for the first time of quasielastic scattering of light by a photoexcited electron-hole plasma generated in a GaAs layer with an embedded self-organized ensemble of InAs quantum dots. A considerable resonant enhancement of the quasielastic electronic scattering intensity exceeding the level characteristic of the bulk material by two orders of magnitude has been revealed. The main scattering mechanism, involving joint diffusion of electrons and holes, has been elucidated. Fiz. Tverd. Tela (St. Petersburg) 41, 844–847 (May 1999)     

Ground state energy of the electron-hole liquid in type-II (GaAs)m/(AlAs)m quantum wells

The ground state energy of quasi-two-dimensional electron-hole liquid (EHL) at zero temperature is calculated for type-II (GaAs)_m/(AlAs)_m (5≤m≤10) quantum wells (QWs). The correlation effects of Coulomb interaction are taken into account by a random phase approximation of Hubbard. Our EHL ground state energy per electron-hole pair is lower than the exciton energy calculated recently for superlattices, so we expected that EHL is more stable state than excitons at high excitation density. It is also demonstrated that the equilibrium density of EHL in type-II GaAs/AlAs QWs is of one order of magnitude larger than that in type-I GaAs/AlAs QWs.     

Theory for the laser-induced femtosecond phase transition of silicon and GaAS

We analyze he femtosecond instability of the chamond lattice of silicon and GaAs, which is induced by a dense electron-hole plasma after excitation by a very imense laser pulse. We obtain that the electron-hole plasma causes an instability of both transverse acoustic and longitudinal optical phonons. So, within less than 200fs, the atoms are displaced more than 1 Å from their equilibrium position. The gap between the conduction and the valence band then vanishes and the symmetries of the diamond structure are destroyed, which has important effects on the optical reflectivity and second-harmonic generation. After that, the crystal melts very rapidly because of the high kinetic energy of the atoms. Note that mis is in good agreement with recent experiments done on Shand GaAs using a pump laser to excite a dense electron hole plasma and a probe laser to observe the resulting changes in the atomic and electronic structure.Paper presented at the 129th WE-Heraeus-Seminar on Surface Studies by Nonlinear Laser Spectroscopies, Kassel, Germany, May 30 to June 1, 1994     

Plasmons and their damping in a doped semiconductor superlattice

The complex zeroes of dielectric response function of a doped GaAs superlattice are computed to study the frequencies and damping rates of oscillations in coupled electron-hole plasma. The real part of a complex zero describes the plasma frequency, whereas imaginary part of it yields the damping rate. Strong scattering of charge carriers from random impurity potentials in a doped GaAs superlattice gives rise to a large value of damping rate which causes over-damping of plasma oscillations of coupled electron-hole gas below q_c, a critical value of wave vector component (q) along the plane of a layer of electrons (holes). The plasma oscillations which correspond to electrons gas enter into over-damped regime for the case of weak coupling between layers. Whereas, plasma oscillations which belong to hole gas go to over-damped regime of oscillations for both strong as well as weak coupling between layers. The damping rate shows strongq-dependence forq < q_c, whereas it weakly depends onq forq ≥q _c . The damping rate exhibits a sudden change atq =q _c , indicating a transition from non-diffusive regime (where collective excitation can be excited) to diffusive regime (over-damped oscillations).     

Electron-hole liquid in strained SiGe layers of silicon heterostructures

The electron-hole liquid has been found in strained SiGe thin films of Si/Si_1?x Ge_x/Si heterostructures. The density and binding energy of the electron-hole liquid have been determined. Owing to the presence of internal strains in the SiGe layer, the density and binding energy are significantly smaller than the respective quantities for the electron-hole liquid in a bulk single crystal of the solid solution of the same composition. The critical temperature of the transition from the exciton gas to the electron-hole liquid is estimated using the experimental data. The Mott transition (from the exciton gas to electron-hole plasma) occurs above the critical temperatures for high excitation intensities.     

Dynamics of the phase transitions in the system of nonequilibrium charge carriers in quantum-dimensional Si1 − x Ge x /Si structures

The dynamics of the phase transition from an electron-hole plasma to an exciton gas is studied during pulsed excitation of heterostructures with Si_{1 ? x} Ge _x /Si quantum wells. The scenario of the phase transition is shown to depend radically on the germanium content in the Si_{1 ? x} Ge _x layer. The electron-hole system decomposes into a rarefied exciton and a dense plasma phases for quantum wells with a germanium content x = 3.5% in the time range 100–500 ns after an excitation pulse. In this case, the electron-hole plasma existing in quantum wells has all signs of an electron-hole liquid. A qualitatively different picture of the phase transition is observed for quantum wells with x = 9.5%, where no separation into phases with different electronic spectra is detected. The carrier recombination in the electron-hole plasma leads a gradual weakening of screening and the appearance of exciton states. For a germanium content of 5–7%, the scenario of the phase transition is complex: 20–250 ns after an excitation pulse, the properties of the electron-hole system are described in terms of a homogeneous electron-hole plasma, whereas its separation into an electron-hole liquid and an exciton gas is detected after 350 ns. It is shown that, for the electron-hole liquid to exist in quantum wells with x = 5–7% Ge, the exciton gas should have a substantially higher density than in quantum wells with x = 3.5% Ge. This finding agrees with a decrease in the depth of the local minimum of the electron-hole plasma energy with increasing germanium concentration in the SiGe layer. An increase in the density of the exciton gas coexisting with the electron-hole liquid is shown to enhance the role of multiparticle states, which are likely to be represented by trions T ⁺ and biexcitons, in the exciton gas.     

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.     

Optical properties of a coherent phase in electron-hole systems: Stimulated light scattering and multibeam processes

A theoretical study is reported of stimulated light scattering, including wave-vector reversal and anomalous transmission, by a coherent phase in electron-hole (e-h) systems of low and high charge-carrier density. For these two cases the coherent phase is taken to be a Bose-Einstein condensate of excitons or a BCS-like state of e-h pairs, respectively. The scattering mechanism is laser-induced coherent recombination of two excitons or two coherent e-h pairs, respectively. The e-h system is assumed to exist within a GaAs/AlGaAs double quantum well or bulk GaAs. The emission rate of two photons with antiparallel momenta is estimated. Multiphoton emission due to multiexciton coherent recombination is covered. Methods for detecting the effects predicted are proposed.     

Impact ionization and electroluminescence in single barrier tunnelling structures

At high electric fields, hot electrons injected into the undoped regions of n-i-n structures can give rise to impact ionization of the host lattice and electron-hole pair production. The holes created by impact ionization recombine with majority carrier electrons, leading to electroluminescence (EL) from the device at fields in excess of 10⁵V/cm. In the present work, we show that the study of such EL in GaAs/AlGaAs/GaAs single barrier tunnelling structures provides a simple and effective quantitative method to determine impact ionization coefficients in GaAs. Structures with undoped regions of length 100, 150 and 200nm are shown to give very similar results for the impact ionization coefficient. The values obtained for the impact ionization coefficient are shown to be consistent with those obtained by carrier multiplication methods.     

Luminescence due to metallic electron-hole liquid in GaAs

Emission spectra of high-purity GaAs have been studied at 4.2K under very intense optical excitation. The results give the first experimental evidence for an important contribution of the electron-hole liquid phase in the luminescence of a direct-allowed semiconductor. Theoretical fit of the luminescence band-shape is satisfactory. The effects of applied electric field on the emission spectra are explained well using a concept of the metallic electron—hole plasma state.