Kinetics of indirect photoluminescence in GaAs/AlxGa1−x As double quantum wells in a random potential with a large amplitude

The kinetics of indirect photoluminescence of GaAs/Al_xGa_1−x As double quantum wells, characterized by a random potential with a large amplitude (the linewidth of the indirect photoluminescence is comparable to the binding energy of an indirect exciton) in magnetic fields B≤12 T at low temperatures T≥1.3 K is investigated. It is found that the indirect-recombination time increases with the magnetic field and decreases with increasing temperature. It is shown that the kinetics of indirect photoluminescence corresponds to single-exciton recombination in the presence of a random potential in the plane of the double quantum wells. The variation of the nonradiative recombination time is discussed in terms of the variation of the transport of indirect excitons to nonradiative recombination centers, and the variation of the radiative recombination time is discussed in terms of the variation of the population of optically active excitonic states and the localization radius of indirect excitons. The photoluminescence kinetics of indirect excitons, which is observed in the studied GaAs/Al_xGa_1−x As double quantum wells for which the random potential has a large amplitude, is qualitatively different from the photoluminescence kinetics of indirect excitons in AlAs/GaAs wells and GaAs/Al_xGa_1−x As double quantum wells with a random potential having a small amplitude. The temporal evolution of the photoluminescence spectra in the direct and indirect regimes is studied. It is shown that the evolution of the photoluminescence spectra corresponds to excitonic recombination in a random potential. Zh. éksp. Teor. Fiz. 115, 1890–1905 (May 1999)     

Interwell excitons in GaAs/AlGaAs double quantum wells and their collective properties

Luminescence spectra of interwell excitons in GaAs/AlGaAs double quantum wells with electric-field-tilted bands (n-i-n) structures were studied. In these structures the electron and the hole in the interwell exciton are spatially separated between neighboring quantum wells by a narrow AlAs barrier. Under resonant excitation by circularly polarized light the luminescence line of the interwell excitons exhibited appreciable narrowing as their concentration increased and the degree of circular polarization of the photoluminescence increased substantially. Under resonant excitation by linearly polarized light the alignment of the interwell excitons increased as a threshold process with increasing optical pumping. By analyzing time-resolved spectra and the kinetics of the photoluminescence intensity under pulsed excitation it was established that under these conditions the rate of radiative recombination increases substantially. The observed effect occurs at below-critical temperatures and is interpreted in terms of the collective behavior of the interwell excitons. Studies of the luminescence spectra in a magnetic field showed that the collective exciton phase is dielectric and in this phase the interwell excitons retain their individual properties.     

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)     

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)     

调制掺杂ZnSe/BeTe Ⅱ型量子阱结构中的内秉电场和新型带电激子

报道了调制掺杂的ZnSe/BeTe/ZnSe Ⅱ型量子阱(type-Ⅱ QW)在低温(2—5 K)条件下的光致发光(PL),光致发光激发(PLE)和磁性光致发光(magneto-PL)光谱的实验结果.　观察到非掺杂样品的PL有两个很强的主发光峰而掺杂样品只有一个的奇异发光.　PL直线偏振度和PLE的测量结果都表明了这些空间间接型跃迁PL是来自两个异质结界面的贡献,非掺杂样品的两个主发光峰的分离则是起因于QW结构中的内秉电场(built-in electric field).在平行于QW生长方向的强磁场中, 关键词： 光致发光 二维电子气 带电激子 Ⅱ型量子阱     

Excitonic effects in diluted magnetic semiconductor nanostructures

Excitonic properties and the dynamics are reported in quantum dots (QDs) and quantum wells (QW) of diluted magnetic semiconductors. Transient spectroscopies of photoluminescence and nonlinear-optical absorption and emission have been made on these quantum nanostructures. The Cd_1−x Mn_xSe QDs show the excitonic magnetic polaron effect with an increased binding energy. The quantum wells of the Cd_1−x Mn_xTe/ZnTe system display fast energy and dephasing relaxations of the free and localized excitons as well as the tunneling process of carriers and excitons in the QWs depending on the barrier widths. The observed dynamics and the enhanced excitonic effects are the inherent properties of the diluted magnetic nanostructures. Fiz. Tverd. Tela (St. Petersburg) 40, 846–848 (May 1998) Published in English in the original Russian journal. Reproduced here with stylistic changes by the Translation Editor.     

Charged excitons in quantum dots: novel magnetic behavior and Auger processes

We describe theoretically multiply-charged excitons interacting with a continuum of delocalized states. Such excitons exist in relatively shallow quantum dots and have been observed in recent optical experiments on InAs self-assembled dots. The interaction of an exciton and delocalized states occurs via Auger-like processes. To describe the optical spectra, we employ the Anderson-like Hamiltonian by including the interaction between the localized exciton and delocalized states of the wetting layer. In the absence of a magnetic field, the photoluminescence line shapes exhibit interference effects. When a magnetic field is applied, the photoluminescence spectrum demonstrates anticrossings with the Landau levels of the extended states. We show that the magnetic-field behavior of charged excitons is very different to that of diamagnetic excitons in three and two-dimensional systems.     

Magneto-optical studies of GainAsInP quantum wells

The optical properties of GainAsInP quantum wells are studied in magnetic fields of up to 16T. A comparison of the absorption and photoluminescence spectra of a series of multiple quantum wells provides evidence that the photoluminescence occurs from excitons in which the hole is localised. This localisation is shown to be present in a highly doped sample with a sheet carrier density of ∼10¹² cm⁻², indicating that the localisation is not screened out by high free carrier densities. A theoretical fit to measured Landau level transitions in a 100Å multiple quantum well allows values for the carrier masses, electron non-parabolicity and exciton binding energy to be determined.     

Exciton condensate emission in double quantum wells

Studies of the photoluminescence spectra of spatially indirect excitons in coupled quantum wells revealed that the emission has a directional pattern dependent on the external electric field and pumping power. The experimentally detected correlation between the spectral emission parameters of spatially indirect excitons, namely, the concentration (phase state) of such excitons, the line half-width, the degree of linear polarization, and the existence of a directional pattern, permits a suggestion that the spontaneous photoluminescence of spatially indirect excitons in the condensed state is of a coherent nature.     

Optically detected resonance spectroscopy of interface fluctuation quantum dots

We have performed optically detected resonance (ODR) spectroscopy on modulation-doped GaAs/AlGaAs quantum wells of different widths in which lateral fluctuations of the well width were purposely introduced by growth interruption at the interfaces. These monolayer fluctuations form quantum dots for which confinement and Coulomb correlation energies are comparable. By monitoring resonant changes of the dot ensemble photoluminescence induced by far-infrared (FIR) radiation in a magnetic field, we have observed cyclotron resonance (CR) of free electrons in the widest wells, as well as internal transitions of mobile and localized charged excitons. The latter, which are forbidden by magnetic translational invariance, have previously not been observed. For the narrower wells the effects of non-parabolicity and carrier localization on the CR and CR-like transitions have to be included for a proper interpretation of the measurements.     

Behavior of excitons and trions in CdTe/CdMgTe quantum-well structures with variations in temperature

The temperature-induced variations in the photoluminescence spectra measured in a magnetic field of trions and excitons in CdTe/CdMgTe quantum wells with modulated doping are studied. It is found that the temperature-induced redistribution of the intensity between the exciton and trion emission lines in a magnetic field is opposite to that expected from the simple Boltzmann distribution model. Coupled rate equations for the trion-exciton system are solved to construct the temperature dependences of the exciton and trion emission line intensities. The relations thus calculated are in good agreement with experiment.     

Excitons and excitonic complexes in GaAs/AlGaAs quantum wells with a low-density quasi-two-dimensional electron and hole channel

The recombination spectra of excitons and excitonic complexes in un-doped GaAs/AlGaAs single quantum wells are investigated. It is shown on the basis of a study of the magnetic-field dependence of the emission spectra and the degree of optical orientation in zero magnetic field and on the basis of electrooptic measurements that not only the density but also the sign of the charge carriers in a well depend strongly on the photoexcitation energy. It is shown on the basis of a comparative analysis of the spin splitting of the recombination lines of free and bound excitons that the recombination line which was attributed earlier to a positively charged exciton corresponds to the recombination of an exciton bound on a neutral acceptor. Pis’ma Zh. éksp. Teor. Fiz. 67, No. 9, 707–713 (10 May 1998)     

Photoluminescence and photoluminescence excitation of AlGaAs/GaAs quantum wells with growth-interrupted heterointerfaces grown by molecular beam epitaxy

We have measured the photoluminescence (PL) and PL excitation (PLE) of AlGaAs/GaAs single quantum wells with growth-interrupted heterointerfaces. PLE shows the small Stokes shifts of less than 1 meV indicating the extremely flat heterointerfaces without microroughness. Photoluminescence spectra show four peaks originating from different monolayer terraces. These peaks exhibit a doublet splitting. We assigned this doublet to free excitons and excitons bound to neutral donors from the strong well width dependence of doublet splitting.     

Optical spectroscopy of GaAsGaAlAs quantum wells under an external electric field

We have studied by means of low temperature photoluminescence (PL) and photocurrent spectroscopy the effects of an external electric field on the excitons in GaAs quantum wells confined between GaAlAs. Increasing the field causes a Stark shift of the excitons toward lower energies with a simultaneous quenching in the PL intensity. At moderate fields, we find very good agreement (better than 0.5 meV) between the light- and heavy-hole exciton energies obtained by PL and photocurrent measurements. A significant deviation in energy of the PL relative to the photocurrent is observed at high fields, manifesting the increase in the contributions of impurity-bound excitons to the PL lineshape. A detailed PL study of the Stark shift as a function of well thickness has also been performed. The results show an increasing Stark shift with increasing well thickness, amounting to 110 meV for a 230 Å-wide well at a field of 10⁵ V/cm. For very wide wells (∼ 1000 Å) the behavior of bulk GaAs is recovered: the excitons become ionized before large Stark shifts can be observed. Variational calculations have been carried out and shown to account for the experimental observations of both the Stark shift and the quenching of the PL. In this light, we will discuss the mechanisms governing the optical properties of quantum wells under an external electric field.     

Magnetic Circular Polarization of Exciton Photoluminescence

Experimental and theoretical studies of circular polarization of photoluminescence of excitons (MCPL) in semiconductors placed in an external magnetic field are reviewed. The advantage of the MCPL method is its relative simplicity. In particular, it does not require spectral resolution of the Zeeman sublevels of an exciton and may be applied to a wide class of objects having broad photoluminescence spectral lines or bands: in bulk semiconductors with excitons localized on the defects of the crystal lattice and composition fluctuations, in structures with quantum wells and quantum dots of types I and II, in two-dimensional transition metals dichalcogenides and quantum microcavities. The basic mechanisms of the magnetic circular polarization of luminescence are considered. It is shown that either known mechanisms should be modified or additional mechanisms of the MCPL should be developed to describe the polarized photoluminescence in newly invented nanosystems.     

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)     

Photovoltaic spectra of undoped GaAsAl0.25Ga0.75As multiple quantum well structures: Correlation with photoluminescence

The photovoltaic spectra of molecular beam epitaxy GaAsAl_0.25Ga_0.75As multiple quantum wells in the vicinity of the n=1 sub-bandgap region and their correlation with the corresponding photoluminescence spectra have been studied in the temperature range 2–297K. Photovoltaic and photoluminescence spectra are found to agree for the transition of the n=1 heavy- and light-hole excitons. The photovoltaic spectra in the Schottky-barrier configuration show as the relative maxima and minima at the corresponding exciton photoluminescence lines. A possible model of the observed coincidence of photoluminescence and photovoltage is discussed.     

Magnetic-field-dependent excitation transfer in quantum wells of diluted magnetic semiconductor

We studied the excitation transfer in double quantum wells of a diluted magnetic semiconductor using a scanning near-field optical microscope at 7 K in external magnetic fields up to 9 T. In each quantum well, local energy minima are generated by local fluctuation of layer thickness and doping concentration of magnetic components. Excitons relax into the local energy minima and transfer between the minima via near-field optical interactions even across quantum wells toward stable sites at which to localize. We measured the intensity maps of near-field photoluminescence with spatial resolution estimated to be 30 nm under varying external magnetic fields. The measurement position reproducibility was confirmed by scanning tunneling microscope images. Analysis of the maps derived the magnetic-field dependence of the typical size of exciton-localization sites for each quantum well. Based on these results, we investigated the excitation transfer between the two quantum wells lying in different layers of the double quantum well system, and showed that the exciton transfer takes place at the two specific applied magnetic-field intensities that result in the crossing of Zeeman-split energy levels of the two different wells. We concluded that both the localization and the inter-quantum-well transfer of excitons are able to be controlled by an external magnetic field. This provides the basis for functional devices operating without any wiring.     

Dimensional effects and magnetic field influence on excitons in coupled quantum dots and coupled quantum wells

Direct and indirect excitons in coupled quantum wells and in coupled quantum dots are studied. We consider excitons with two-dimensional, quasi-two-dimensional and three-dimensional carriers. Problems were investigated for a wide range of characteristic parameters—confining to potential steepness, distances between quantum wells or dots, effective width of wells and magnetic fields. The mutual influence of the controlling parameters of the problem on exciton properties is analyzed. Energy and wave function spectra were calculated and dispersion law and effective masses were obtained.     

Collective behavior of interwell excitons in GaAs/AlGaAs double quantum wells

Photoluminescence spectra of interwell excitons in double GaAs/AlGaAs quantum wells (n-i-n structures) have been investigated (an interwell exciton in these systems is an electron-hole pair spatially separated by a narrow AlAs barrier). Under resonance excitation by circularly polarized light, the luminescence line of interwell excitons exhibits a significant narrowing and a drastic increase in the degree of circular polarization of photoluminescence with increasing exciton concentration. It is found that the radiative recombination rate significantly increases under these conditions. This phenomenon is observed at temperatures lower than the critical point and can be interpreted in terms of the collective behavior of interwell excitons.