Novel effects in extremely broadband semiconductor optical amplifiers with non-identical quantum wells

An extremely broad emission spectrum is obtained for semiconductor optical amplifiers with multiple quantum wells fabricated on the substrate. The spectral width is nearly 400 nm (1200–1600 nm), which covers the entire usable bandwidth of an optical fiber. Broadband characteristics allow observing three novel effects: (i) the bi-directional guided effect of lasing mode in a bent waveguide of semiconductor optical amplifiers, (ii) the optical switching effect in one semiconductor optical amplifier for optical communication band, and (iii) the effect of separate confinement heterostructure layer thickness.     

Linear and nonlinear optical properties of semiconductor quantum wells

In this article we review the experimental and theoretical investigations of the linear and nonlinear optical properties of semiconductor quantum well structures, including the effects of electrostatic fields, extrinsic carriers and real or virtual photocarriers.     

Ultrafast all optical modulation based on intersubband transition in semiconductor quantum wells

Ultrafast modulation of interband-resonant light by intersubband-resonant light in n-doped GaAs/AlGaAs and GaN/AlGaN quantum wells was investigated by femtosecond pump-probe technique. A planar-type AlGaAs/GaAs modulation device shows a modulation speed of ～1 ps at room temperature. The observed modulation efficiency indicates that 99% modulation can be achieved with a control pulse energy of ～1 pJ when a waveguide-type device structure is utilized. The feasibility of the all-optical modulation in GaN/AlGaN quantum wells is also investigated. The intersubband carrier relaxation time, which mainly determines the modulation speed, is measured and is found to be extremely fast (130–170 fs). The results indicate that the optical modulation at a bit rate of over 1 Tb/s will be possible by utilizing the intersubband transition in GaN/AlGaN quantum wells. The modulation efficiency in GaN/AlGaN quantum wells is also discussed in comparison with that in GaAs/AlGaAs quantum wells.     

量子阱在沿其平面方向偏振太赫兹波驱动下子带间光吸收

利用半导体布洛赫方程,讨论了量子阱在沿其平面方向偏振的太赫兹场驱动下的光学吸收谱。研究结果揭示了半导体量子阱在沿平面方向偏振的强太赫兹场驱动下吸收谱的一些新奇效应,如主吸收的太赫兹边带、动态弗兰兹-凯尔迪什效应。太赫兹场的频率及其相位对探测场吸收谱的影响也很显著。     

量子阱在沿其平面方向偏振太赫兹波驱动下子带间光吸收

利用半导体布洛赫方程,讨论了量子阱在沿其平面方向偏振的太赫兹场驱动下的光学吸收谱。研究结果揭示了半导体量子阱在沿平面方向偏振的强太赫兹场驱动下吸收谱的一些新奇效应,如主吸收的太赫兹边带、动态弗兰兹-凯尔迪什效应。太赫兹场的频率及其相位对探测场吸收谱的影响也很显著。     

Photovoltaic spectroscopy of InGaAsP/InP multiple quantum wells

Photovoltaic Spectroscopy is used to study lattice matched Au/InGaAsP/InP multiple quantum wells at 4.2 < T < 300 K. Four quantum transitions are clearly identified in the spectra and their temperature shift mapped. The Au/InGaAsP Schottky barrier is found to be nearly temperature independent at φ_B ≃ 0.68 eV, and the binding energy of the 11H associated exciton estimated at E_b ≃ 11 meV. The 11H exciton displays a small electric field shift, to the red at low T, changing over to a blue shift at higher temperatures.     

Slow light in semiconductor quantum wells

We demonstrate slow light via population oscillation in semiconductor quantum-well structures for the first time. A group velocity as low as 9600 m/s is inferred from the experimentally measured dispersive characteristics. The transparency window exhibits a bandwidth as large as 2 GHz.     

Linear and nonlinear optical properties of excitons in semiconductor quantum wells and microcavities

Linear and nonlinear light propagation in single and multiple quantum wells and in semiconductor microresonators are studied on the basis of Maxwell’s equations. The treatment includes radiative broadening of quantum-confined excitons, radiative coupling between quantum wells as well as coupling of quantum wells to the cavity field of a microresonator for steady state or ultrashort pulse excitation. The dynamical evolution of the coherent quantum-well polarization under the influence of many-body effects is studied within a microscopic model. The theory is used to investigate the influence of exciton saturation and dephasing on pulse propagation and excitonic normal-mode coupling.     

Spin–orbit coupling effects on the in-plane optical anisotropy of semiconductor quantum wells

We theoretically study the influence of the spin–orbit coupling(SOC) on the in-plane optical anisotropy(IPOA) induced by in-plane uniaxial strain and interface asymmetry in(001) GaAs/AlGaAs quantum wells(QWs) with different well width. It is found that the SOC has more significant impact on the IPOA for the transition of the first valence subband of heavy hole to the first conduction band(1H1E) than that of 1L1E. The reason has been discussed. The IPOA of(001) InGaAs/InP QWs has been measured by reflectance difference spectroscopy, whose amplitude is about one order larger than that of GaAs/AlGaAs QWs. The anisotropic interface potential parameters of InGaAs/InP QWs are also determined. The influence of the SOC effect on the IPOA of InGaAs/InP QWs when the QWs are under tensile, compressive or zero biaxial strain are also investigated in theory. Our results demonstrate that the SOC has significant effect on the IPOA especially for semiconductor QWs with small well width, and therefore cannot be ignored.     

InGaAsP—InP大光腔结构激光器

本文针对影响InGaAsP-InP激光器温度特性的各种因素,设计并制备了大光腔(LOC)结构激光器.实验表明,这种结构改善了激光器的温度稳定性,获得了低阈值(宽接触型器件J_(th)≈2.5kA/cm~2),高功率(脉冲输出3W)和高特征温度(T_o=150K)器件.     

Electron population and optical properties via incoherent pumping fields in semiconductor quantum wells

In a three-level asymmetric semiconductor quantum well system, owing to the effects that result from the incoherent pumping fields, we find that the electron population, absorption and dispersion properties can be efficiently controlled. The results are achieved by applying the two incoherent pumping fields, so they are very different from the conventional schemes that coherent driving fields are used to control the optical properties and electron population. Thus, it may provide some new possibilities for technological applications in solid-state optoelectronics science.     

T-matrix analysis of biexcitonic correlations in the nonlinear optical response of semiconductor quantum wells

A detailed numerical analysis of exciton-exciton interactions in semiconductor quantum wells is presented. The theory is based on the dynamics-controlled truncation formalism and evaluated for the case of resonant excitation of 1s-heavy-hole excitons. It is formulated in terms of standard concepts of scattering theory, such as the forward-scattering amplitude (or T-matrix). The numerical diagonalization of the exciton-exciton interaction matrix in the 1s-approximation yields the excitonic T-matrix. We discuss the role of the direct and exchange interaction in the effective two-exciton Hamiltonian, which determines the T-matrix, evaluated within the 1s-subspace, and also analyze the effects of the excitonic wave function overlap matrix. Inclusion of the latter is shown to effectively prevent the 1s-approximation from making the Hamiltonian non-hermitian, but a critical discussion shows that other artefacts may be avoided by not including the overlap matrix. We also present a detailed analysis of the correspondence between the excitonic T-matrix in the 1s-approximation and the well-known T-matrix governing two-particle interactions in two dimensional systems via short-range potentials. Received 3 August 2001 and Received in final form 26 December 2001     

Effects of quantum confined stark effect and well thickness on optical properties of double quantum wells violet InGaN laser diodes

The effects of quantum confined stark effect (QCSE) and quantum well (QW) thickness on the optical properties of violet InGaN laser diodes (LDs) have numerically been investigated. The simulation results indicated that the QCSE greatly effects the optical properties of LDs, where QCSE relates to the QW thickness and it increases when the QW thickness is wider which leads to deteriorating of the optical proprieties of the violet InGaN LD. The polarization in the active region of the InGaN LD has been estimated by the blue shift of the wavelength and it is found that the blue shift of the wavelength depends on the QW thickness. The major simulation result has shown that the best properties of violet InGaN LD can be obtained with smaller QW thickness, where more carriers can be restricted, stayed and overlapped inside the QW which leads to a larger stimulated recombination rate and optical material gain which in turn increase the output power of the LD; while decreasing the threshold current of the LD.     

Bound states in optical absorption of semiconductor quantum wells containing a two-dimensional electron Gas

The dependence of the optical absorption spectrum of a semiconductor quantum well on two-dimensional electron concentration n(e) is studied using CdTe samples. The trion peak (X-) seen at low n(e) evolves smoothly into the Fermi edge singularity at high n(e). The exciton peak (X) moves off to high energy, weakens, and disappears. The X,X- splitting is linear in n(e) and closely equal to the Fermi energy plus the trion binding energy. For Cd0.998Mn0.002Te quantum wells in a magnetic field, the X,X- splitting reflects unequal Fermi energies for M = +/-1/2 electrons. The data are explained by Hawrylak's theory of the many-body optical response including spin effects.     

Blue InGaN light-emitting diodes with dip-shaped quantum wells

InGaN based light-emitting diodes (LEDs) with dip-shaped quantum wells and conventional rectangular quantum wells are numerically investigated by using the APSYS simulation software. It is found that the structure with dip-shaped quantum wells shows improved light output power, lower current leakage and less efficiency droop. Based on numerical simulation and analysis, these improvements on the electrical and the optical characteristics are attributed mainly to the alleviation of the electrostatic field in dip-shaped InGaN/GaN multiple quantum wells (MQWs).     

半导体量子点在白光LED器件上的应用研究

以CdSe, CuInS₂和CdS:Mn量子点为例, 本文基于量子点白光LED器件的电光转换过程, 引入量子点的“类”光谱光效率函数, 给出了该器件的色坐标、光效和量子点配比等计算公式, 理论计算结果和实验结果基本一致. 研究结果表明量子点的荧光峰位和峰宽对白光器件的显色指数有显著影响.