Carrier collection in a semiconductor quantum well

Data are presented showing that a GaAs quantum well, sandwiched between two epitaxial Al_xGa_1-xAs(x ～ 0.4) confining layers, loses its effectiveness as a collector of excess carriers and as a source of recombination radiation for well dimensions L_z < 100 Å. It is shown that this behavior is expected because of the difficulty in scattering carriers to the bottom of the quantum well as L_z → l_p, the path length for scattering (LO phonon).     

Laser-induced quantum coherence in a semiconductor quantum well

The phenomenon of electromagnetically induced quantum coherence is demonstrated between three confined electron subband levels in a quantum well which are almost equally spaced in energy. Applying a strong coupling field, two-photon resonant with the 1-3 intersubband transition, produces a pronounced narrow transparency feature in the 1-2 absorption line. This result can be understood in terms of all three states being simultaneously driven into "phase-locked" quantum coherence by a single coupling field. We describe the effect theoretically with a density matrix method and an adapted linear response theory.     

A k.p model for hole capture into a quantum well

A k.p model for hole capture into a quantum well has been applied to the calculation of the rates for capture via phonon and alloy scattering into a 30Å In_0.7Ga_0.3As-InGaAsP quantum well, a system which is suitable for lasers operating at 1.55 μm. The well has three subbands, derived from the HH1, LH1 and HH2 zone centre states. Capture of holes into the HH2 subband is predicted to be dominated by polar optical phonon emission, whereas scattering into the other two bands proceeds mainly by non-polar optical phonon emission or alloy scattering. There is structure in the capture rate plotted as a function of the energy and in-plane wavevector of the incident hole, which is attributed to instances where incident holes in barrier states undergo strong transmission into the well region. Mixing between the quantum well subbands is important through the effect upon the density of final states in capture transitions, but is less significant with respect to its effect on the scattering matrix elements.     

Anisotropic spin diffusion in a semiconductor quantum well

We show that spin diffusion of an inhomogeneous spin-density distribution in an asymmetric zinc-blende semiconductor quantum well is anisotropic in coordinate space, if the D’yakonov–Perel’spin-relaxation mechanism is dominant. This anisotropy depends on the relation between the Dresselhaus and Rashba contributions to the spin splitting and reaches its maximum when both contributions are equal in magnitude. Under this condition, the temporal behavior of spin density strongly depends on the relation between the initial spatial extent of the spin packet and spin diffusion length.     

Slow light propagation via quantum coherence in a semiconductor quantum well

With the Schrödinger equations, we investigate the low-intensity light pulse propagation through a semiconductor quantum wells. Through studying the dispersion and absorption properties of the weak probe field, it is shown that slow light propagation is observed in this system. From the view point of practical purpose, it is more advantageous than its corresponding atomic system. Such investigation of slow light propagation may lead to important practical applications in semiconductor quantum information.     

Two-dimensional probe absorption spectrum in a semiconductor quantum well

We investigate the two-dimensional (2D) probe absorption spectrum in a semiconductor quantum well driven by two orthogonal standing-wave lasers. It is found that, due to the position-dependent quantum interference, the 2D spatial distribution of probe absorption spectrum can be easily controlled via adjusting the system parameters. Thus, our scheme shows the underlying probability for the applications in solid-state optic communication and transmission.     

Coherence length of excitons in a semiconductor quantum well

We report on the first experimental determination of the coherence length of excitons in semiconductors using the combination of spatially resolved photoluminescence with phonon sideband spectroscopy. The coherence length of excitons in ZnSe quantum wells is determined to be 300-400 nm, about 25-30 times the exciton de Broglie wavelength. With increasing exciton kinetic energy, the coherence length decreases slowly. The discrepancy between the coherence lengths measured and calculated by considering only the acoustic-phonon scattering suggests an important influence of static disorder.     

Optical nutation in a magnetized semiconductor quantum well structure

Using the semiclassical coherent radiation—semiconductor interaction model, optical nutation has been analysed in aGaAs / Al_xGa_1 − xAs quantum well structure (QWS) assumed to be immersed in a moderately strong magnetic field and irradiated by a not-too-strong near band gap resonant femtosecond pulsed Ti–sapphire laser. The finite potential well depth of the QWS and the Wannier–Mott excitonic structure of the crystal absorption edge is taken into account. The excitation intensity is assumed to be below the Mott transition where the various many-body effects have been neglected with adequate reasoning. Numerical analysis made for a GaAs quantum well of thickness  ∼  100 Åand the confining layers ofAl_xGa_1 − xAs withx =  0.3 at intensity I ≤  5  ×  10⁶Wcm ^− 2reveals that the real and imaginary parts of the transient complex-induced polarization are enhanced with an increase in the magnetic field and their ringing behaviour confirms the occurrence of optical nutation in the QWS.     

Antiphase dynamics of a multimode quantum well semiconductor laser

A novel multilongitudinal mode model of a semiconductor laser is presented. The model takes into account four-wave mixing of the longitudinal modes and is based on the correct procedure of simultaneous expansion of the population inversion in time and space series. It is shown that the model has antiphase regimes similar to those observed in experiment. Such behavior exists in a narrow range of the carrier diffusion coefficient, which allows us to estimate the value of this parameter.     

Carrier transport effects in quantum well lasers

EditorialSpecial Issue

Carrier transport effects in quantum well lasers     

Quasibound states in semiconductor quantum well structures

We present a study on quasibound states in multiple quantum well structures using a finite element model (FEM). The FEM is implemented for solving the effective mass Schrödinger equation in arbitrary layered semiconductor nanostructures with an arbitrary applied potential. The model also includes nonparabolicity effects by using an energy dependent effective mass, where the resulting nonlinear eigenvalue problem was solved using an iterative approach. We focus on quasibound/continuum states above the barrier potential and show that such states can be determined using cyclic boundary conditions. This new method enables the determination of both bound and quasibound states simultaneously, making it more efficient than other methods where different boundary conditions have to be used in extracting the relevant states. Furthermore, the new method lifted the problem of quasibound state divergence commonly seen with many other methods of calculation. Hence enabling accurate determination of dipole matrix elements involving both bound and quasibound states. Such calculations are vital in the design of intersubband optoelectronic devices and reveal the interesting properties of quasibound states above the potential barriers.     

Carrier escape dynamics in a single quantum well waveguide modulator

Picosecond excite-probe studies are performed on a single quantum well waveguide modulator giving a direct measure of the escape of photogenerated carriers from a quantum well. Both the effects of exciton saturation and external field screening are observed in the transient transmission change. The results are consistent with the escape of carriers by thermionic emission.     

Magneto-optical study of nonmagnetic quantum dots coupled to a magnetic semiconductor quantum well

We have investigated a series of double-layer structures consisting of a layer of self-assembled non-magnetic CdSe quantum dots (QDs) separated by a thin ZnSe barrier from a ZnCdMnSe diluted magnetic semiconductor (DMSs) quantum well (QW). In the series, the thickness of the ZnSe barrier ranged between 12 and 40 nm. We observe two clearly defined photoluminescence (PL) peaks in all samples, corresponding to the CdSe QDs and the ZnCdMnSe QW, respectively. The PL intensity of the QW peak is observed to decrease systematically relative to the QD peak as the thickness of the ZnSe barrier decreases, indicating a corresponding increase in carrier tunneling from the QW to the QDs. Furthermore, polarization-selective PL measurements reveal that the degree of polarization of the PL emitted by the CdSe QDs increases with decreasing thickness of the ZnSe barriers. The observed behavior is discussed in terms of anti-parallel spin interaction between carriers localized in the non-magnetic QDs and in the magnetic QWs.     

Magnetopolaron states involving confined phonons in a semiconductor quantum well

Energy splitting ΔE _res in double magnetopolaron energy spectrum in rectangular quantum wells as functions of the well width d have been calculated. We have considered in the capacity of interaction leading to resonant coupling between electrons and phonons the interaction with confined phonons and (for comparison) with bulk LO phonons. We have obtained the conditions when the interaction with bulk phonons yields correct results. Calculations for AlAs/GaAs/AlAs and AlSb/InSb/AlSb structures have been performed. Alongside the parameter ΔE _res for a polaron, whose resonant magnetic field is determined by the condition Ω=ω _L1, where Ω is the cyclotron frequency and ω _L1 is the LO phonon frequency in the quantum well (A-polaron), we have calculated ΔE _res for D-(Ω=2ω _L1) and F-polarons (Ω=3ω _L1), which is a factor of $\sqrt 2 $ and $\sqrt 3 $ , respectively, smaller than ΔE _res for the A-polaron. Since the splitting ΔE _res for the A-polaron is very large (up to 0.2?ω _L1), it is more convenient to study in experiments D-and F-polarons since their resonant magnetic fields are lower. We have predicted existence of “weak” magnetopolarons, in which the splitting is proportional to a higher power of Frölich’s coupling constant α than α ^1/2.     

Control of two-dimensional electron population in a semiconductor quantum well

We investigate the two-dimensional (2D) electron population in a semiconductor quantum well. It is found that, due to the position-dependent quantum interference, the 2D spatial distribution of electron population can be easily controlled via adjusting the system parameters. Thus, our scheme shows the underlying probability for the applications in solid-state optoelectronics.     

Local manipulation of nuclear spin in a semiconductor quantum well

The shaping of nuclear spin polarization profiles and the induction of nuclear resonances are demonstrated within a parabolic quantum well using an externally applied gate voltage. Voltage control of the electron and hole wave functions results in nanometer-scale sheets of polarized nuclei positioned along the growth direction of the well. Applying rf voltages across the gates induces resonant spin transitions of selected isotopes. This depolarizing effect depends strongly on the separation of electrons and holes, suggesting that a highly localized mechanism accounts for the observed behavior.     

Carrier capture and relaxation through a continuum background in InAs quantum dots

Carrier capture and relaxation in self-assembled InAs/GaAs quantum dots (QDs) have been studied, using bleaching rise time measurements for both the ground state (GS) and the first excited state (ES) transition, as a function of temperature (5, 77 and 293 K) and excitation density. We surprisingly observe that the bleaching rise time is longer for the ES than for the GS, indicating that the ES does not act as an intermediate state. At intermediate excitation density where the carrier relaxation is usually explained by Auger scattering, we still observe a temperature dependence pointing towards a single phonon emission process. For high excitation density, we observe a temperature-dependent plateau in the initial bleaching rise time, contradicting an Auger scattering-based relaxation model. Both these experimental results point towards a relaxation through the continuum background, followed by a single LO-phonon emission towards the QD GS.     

Shallow impurity centers in semiconductor quantum well structures

Interest in the study of the behavior of shallow impurity centers in superlattices and quantum well structures is fairly recent. This paper reviews briefly both the theoretical and experimental work done in this field in the last few years. Several recent calculations of the energy levels of hydrogenic impurity states in quantum well structures, such as Ga_1?xAl_xAsGaAsGa_1?xAl_xAs, are reviewed. The behavior of these levels as a function of the quantum well size is discussed. Recent experimental data concerning the variations of the binding energies of shallow donors and acceptors as a function of the GaAs quantum well size are reviewed. A comparison between these experimental measurements and the results of recent calculations is presented.