The Electron-Hole plasma in CdS between 5 K and room temperature

We investigate and analyze the time-integrated nonlinear optical behaviour of an electronhole plasma in CdS as a function of the temperature and the exciting intensity. The competition between the temperature dependences of the absorption tail and of the manyparticle effects leads with increasing temperature around 160 K to a turn-over from a red- to a blue-shift of the absorption edge under excitation. The frequency dependence of the absorption for high plasma concentrations is in good agreement with theoretical calculations.     

Excited states of bound excitons in ZnO

The bound exciton lines I₅, I₆, and I_{$\text{7}\text{8}$} in ZnO at 5 K are studied in the energetic region of the free excitons and below by means of excitation spectroscopy. Apart from the maxima at the free exciton energies, additional resonances are observed and interpreted as the direct creation of bound excitons in excited states which lie 6meV and 4.5 meV above the ground states.     

Laser-induced grating self-diffraction from a medium with induced absorption

There are a great variety of optical nonlinearities that can lead to the phenomenon of laser-induced gratings (LIG) in semiconductors. In the present contribution the dynamic behaviour of an induced absorber with intrinsic bistability is investigated under excitation in a LIG self-diffraction arrangement. Using CdS as a model substance, the comparison of our theoretical model with our experimental findings gives an insight into the nonlinear dynamics of the degenerate carrier system and also an estimation of the transport properties of the electron-hole plasma.     

ZnO: material, physics and applications.

ZnO is presently experiencing a research boom with more than 2000 ZnO-related publications in 2005. This phenomenon is triggered, for example, by hope to use ZnO as a material for blue/UV optoelectronics as an alternative to GaN, as a cheap, transparent, conducting oxide, as a material for electronic circuits that are transparent in the visible or for semiconductor spintronics. Currently, however, the main problem is to achieve high, reproducible and stable p-doping. Herein, we critically review aspects of the material growth, fundamental properties of ZnO and ZnO-based nanostructures and doping as well as present and future applications with emphasis on the electronic and optical properties including stimulated emission.     

Some results on electronic two- and one photon raman scattering in CdS

Two photon Raman scattering (TPRS) via virtually excited biexcitons is observed in CdS over a rather large spectral region in a scattering configuration which favours stimulated emission. We observe either a pure longitudinal exciton or-for the first time—a bound exciton (I ₂) as final state particles. Furthermore, the anomaly in the relation between _exc and _R at _exc= E_blex is observed for the first time in a II–VI compound, indicating an energy of the ₁ biexciton level of 5.098 eV in agreement with two photon absorption measurements. With an applied magnetic fieldB, the corresponding shift of the exciton eigenenergies can be observed. For the longitudinal exciton, the diamagnetic shift is 0.35 meV atB=10T forBc in agreement with theoretical predictions. In this configuration also a stimulated one photon spin flip Raman scattering is observed, yielding the well known electronicg-value of 1.78.     

Linear and nonlinear optics,dynamics, and lasing in ZnO bulk and nanostructures

In linear optics, we report on measurements of the absolute external quantum efficiency of bulk ZnO and powders using an integrating sphere. At low temperature the near band edge emission efficiency can reach 0.15 in the best samples. For deep center luminescence this value may be even higher. When going to room temperature (RT) the quantum efficiency drops by about one order of magnitude. From time resolved luminescence measurements we deduce the lifetime of the free and bound excitons to be in the sub ns regime and find for the latter a systematic increase with increasing binding energy.Concerning lasing, we discuss the role of excitonic processes and the recombination in an inverted electron–hole plasma (EHP). While excitonic processes seem well justified at lower temperatures and densities, doubts arise concerning the concept of excitonic lasing at RT in ZnO. The densities at laser threshold at RT are frequently close to the Mott density or above but below the density at which population inversion in an EHP is reached. We suggest alternative processes which can explain stimulated emission in this density regime in an EHP at RT.