Enhanced optical polarization anisotropy in quantum wells under anisotropic tensile strain

Anisotropic in-plane strain in quantum wells leads to an optical polarization anisotropy that can be exploited in optoelectronic devices such as modulators. A theoretical model shows that the behavior of the polarization anisotropy with increasing strain anisotropy is radically different for quantum wells under anisotropic tensile and compressive strains of equal magnitude. This strikingly different behavior arises from the different valence-subband mixing that occurs in the cases of anisotropic tensile and compressive strain. Specifically, the mixing of the first heavy- and light-hole subbands that occurs only under anisotropic tensile strain is central to the polarization anisotropy.     

High-resolution photoluminescence studies of GaAs/GaAlAs multi-quantum-well structures grown by molecular beam epitaxy

Recent developments in the studies of GaAs/GaAlAs multi-quantum-well (MQW) structures using high-resolution photoluminescence spectroscopy are reviewed. Results discussed in this paper are all obtained in quantum wells grown using molecular-beam epitaxy (MBE). The observed linewidths of the excitonic transitions are very small (in many cases < 0.2 meV), thus indicating a high quality of the quantum wells. Theories of crystal growth by MBE using Monte Carlo techniques and of excitonic lineshape in quantum wells are reviewed. Based on the observed linewidths of the excitonic transitions, a microscopic model for the GaAs/GaAlAs interface is proposed. Variations of the energies of the various transitions in MQW structures as a function of the well size are presented and are compared with the available calculations. The behavior of the excitonic transitions as a function of temperature and applied electric field is also reviewed.     

GaAs／AlGaAs非对称耦合双阱光荧光的温度依赖关系

报道了ＧａＡｓ／ＡｌＧａＡｓ非对称耦合双量子阱ｐｉｎ结构在不同温度下的光荧光谱，观察到宽阱与窄阱重空穴激子峰荧光强度随温度上升而较快下降的不同变化关系，结果表明窄阱电子的热发射是导致窄阱光荧光强度随温度上升而较快下降的主要原因。同时观测到宽阱轻空穴激子峰强度特环的温度依赖关系，并分析了其物理机制。     

Enhancement of the Stark effect in coupled quantum wells foroptical switching devices

Significant enhancement of the Stark effect on the electronic state and the optical dipole moments of coupled quantum wells is shown theoretically. The multiband effective mass theory (k&oarr;-p&oarr;), which takes into account coupling between heavy- and light-hole states of the coupled quantum wells is used. Mixing of states in the coupled quantum wells leads to the splitting of subband energy levels. An applied electric field causes repulsion between the split levels as well as the spin-splitting of the valence-subband structure. Comparison with the single quantum well shows that the optical dipole moment is substantially more reduced for the coupled quantum wells at the same electric field because of enhanced charge separation in this structure. A variational method is used to solve the exciton problem in coupled quantum wells. Calculated exciton peak positions versus electric field show very good agreement with recent experiments. Calculated exciton absorption spectra for the ground state show the quenching of the exciton peak at F=30 kV/cm at 5 K. These results may have interesting applications to low-voltage optoelectronic switching devices based on the quantum-confined Stark effect     

Excitonic photoluminescence of silicon quantum-well structures

The exciton binding energy and the energies of radiative excitonic transitions in the separate SiO_x-Si-SiO_x quantum wells are calculated in the effective-mass approximation with the quadratic dispersion relation. Along with the real finite offsets of the bands in such quantum well structures, the effect of dielectric enhancement of the exciton binding energy due polarization of the heterointerfaces is taken into account. In addition, the dependence of the zero-phonon radiative excitonic recombination time on the width of the SiO_x-Si-SiO_x quantum well is calculated. This dependence exhibits unsteady (oscillating) behavior, which is caused by the indirect band gap of the silicon material. It is shown that the theoretically calculated energies of the radiative excitonic transitions in the SiO₂-Si-SiO₂ quantum wells match the experimentally determined energies for the quantum wells whose widths are larger than 1.5 nm. Good agreement between the theoretically calculated and experimental spectral dependences of photoluminescence in the SiO₂-Si-SiO₂ quantum wells is attained.     

非对称耦合双阱P—I—N结构的光伏谱研究

首次报道了GaAs/Al_(0.35)Ga_(0.65)As/GaAs(50(?)/40(?)/100(?))非对称耦合双阱P-I-N结构的室温光伏谱,清楚地观察到双阱的轻、重空穴激子峰,这些激子峰的能量位置与光荧光和光电流谱得到的数据吻合得很好,而且光伏谱谱形非常类似于光电流谱,呈现清晰的台阶状结构。此外,还观察到轻、重空穴激子跃迁对激发光偏振态的依赖,并讨论了产生光伏谱的机制。     

Improved Multi-band Transfer Matrix Method for Calculating Eigenvalues and Eigenfunctions of Quantum Well and Superlattice Structures

We present an improved transfer matrix algorithm which can be used in solving general n-band effective-mass Schrodinger equation for quantum well structures with arbitrary shaped potential profiles (where n specifies the number of bands explicitly included in the effective-mass equation). In the proposed algorithm, specific formulas are presented for the three-band (the conduction band and the two heavy- and light-hole bands) and two-band (the heavy- and light-hole bands) effective-mass eigensystems. Advantages of the present method can be taken in its simple and unified treatment for general n × n matrix envelope-function equations, which requires relatively smaller computation efforts as compared with existing methods of similar kind. As an illustration of application of the method, numerical computations are performed for a single GaAs/AlGaAs quantum well using both the two-band and three-band formulas. The results are compared with those obtained by the conventional variational procedure to assess the validity of the method.     

Polarization-insensitive electroabsorptive modulation usinginterdiffused InGaAs(P)-InP quantum wells

This is a theoretical study to demonstrate the use of interdiffusion in the realization of polarization insensitivity at the band-edge. Two InGaAs-InP quantum well as-grown structures have been investigated: one with lattice-matched condition and the other with small as-grown tensile strain (0.15%). The interdiffusion is considered to take place on the Group V (As and P) sublattice only. As a result, a tensile strain is produced which merges the heavy- and light-hole states in order to achieve polarization insensitivity. Criteria to develop polarization-insensitive quantum wells (QW's) using interdiffusion are presented here. When the two-phase interdiffusion mechanism is modeled, the results show that the well barrier interfaces of the QW maintain an abrupt profile while the well width remains constant after interdiffusion. The two interdiffused QW structures considered here can produce polarization insensitive electroabsorption at operation wavelengths around 1.55 μm. The one with lattice-matched condition Is particularly attractive since it only requires an easy (high-yield) fabrication process with a simple postprocessing thermal annealing to achieve polarization insensitivity     

Bandwidth-limited diffraction of femtosecond pulses fromphotorefractive quantum wells

The diffraction of 100-fs pulses from the static gratings of photorefractive quantum wells (QWs) produces diffracted pulses that are nearly transform-limited, despite the strong dispersion near the quantum-confined excitonic transitions. This quality makes the QW's candidates for use in femtosecond pulse shaping, although the currently limited bandwidth of the quantum-confined excitonic transitions broadens the diffracted pulses. Femtosecond electric-field cross correlation and spectral interferometry techniques completely characterize the low-intensity pulses diffracted from stand-alone photorefractive QWs, and from QWs placed inside a Fourier-domain femtosecond pulse shaper     

P型张应变Si/SiGe量子阱红外探测器的能带设计

提出P型张应变Si/SiGe量子阱红外探测器(QWIP)结构,应用k·P方法计算应变Si/SiGe量子阱价带能带结构和应变SiGe合金空穴有效质量.结果表明量子阱中引入张应变使轻重空穴反转,基态为有效质量较小的轻空穴态,因此P型张应变Si/SiGe QWIP与n型QWIP相比具有更低的暗电流;而与P型压应变或无应变QWIP相比光吸收和载流子输运特性具有较好改善.在此基础上讨论了束缚态到准束缚态子带跃迁型张应变p-Si/SiGe QWIP的优化设计.     

Modeling of optical gain in InGaN-AlGaN andInxGa1-xN-InyGa1-yNquantum-well lasers

This paper presents computations of the optical gain in In_x Ga_1-xN-In_yGa_1-yN and InGaN-AlGaN quantum-well lasers involving the contributions of excitons as well as free carriers transitions. The behavior of optical gain in GaN based quantum wells due to excitonic transitions is quite similar to that of ZnCdSe-ZnSSe system, as the magnitude of the exciton binding energies (~30 meV) is comparable. The model compares the exciton emission energy with the experimental data reported on In_0.22Ga_0.78N-In_0.06Ga_0.94N multiple quantum wells as well as in GaN layers (cubic grown on 3C SiC), including the effect of strain induced band gap changes. The optical gain is also computed as a function of the injection current density for the InGaN-AlGaN multiple quantum-well lasers. The model evaluates the feasibility of obtaining GaN based blue and ultraviolet lasers. It is shown that the excitonic transitions reduce the threshold current density which is adversely affected by the presence of dislocations and other defects     

Observations of room-temperature excitons in InGaP/InGaAlP MQW structures

Room-temperature excitonic resonances in the optical absorption spectrum of InGaP/lnGaAlP multiquantum wells (MQWs) are observed for the first time. Well resolved heavyhole and light-hole excitons are observed at 100K. From the step-like structure of the absorption spectrum, the conduction-band discontinuity ?Ec is estimated to be 0.46 of the bandgap difference ?Eg.     

Optical transitions in Cd x Hg1 ? x Te-based quantum wells and their analysis with account for the actual band structure of the material

Quantum-confinement levels in a Cd _x Hg_{1 ? x} Te-based rectangular quantum well are calculated in the framework of the four-band Kane model taking into account mixing between the states of electrons and three types of holes (heavy, light, and spin-split holes). Comparison of the calculation results with experimental data on the photoluminescence of Cd _x Hg_{1 ? x} Te-based quantum wells suggests that optical transitions involving the conduction and light-hole bands are possibly observed in the spectra.     

Modulation optical spectroscopy of excitons in structures with GaAs multiple quantum wells separated by tunneling-nontransparent barriers

Contactless optical electroreflectance measurements at different temperatures are used to study exciton states in a structure involving a periodic system of 36 GaAs quantum wells separated by tunneling-nontransparent AlGaAs barriers with thickness 104 nm. In the structure, the width of 32 of the quantum wells is 15 nm, while the width of the remaining four quantum wells, numbered 5, 14, 23, and 32, is 20 nm. The periodicity of the structure corresponds to the Bragg interference condition at the excitonic frequency in quantum wells at the angle of incidence of light ～43°. From the quantitative analysis of the shape of the contactless electroreflectance line, the parameters of the exciton ground states and excited states are determined for both types of quantum wells. It is established that, for the system of four 20-nm-wide quantum wells separated by a distance of 830 nm, the size-quantization energy in the ground state is 8.4 ± 0.1 meV, and the parameter of broadening of the excitonic peak is 1.8 ± 0.1 meV at 17 K and increases with temperature up to 2.0 ± 0.1 meV at 80 K. For the system of 32 wells with the width 15 nm, the quantum confinement energy in the ground state is 14.9 ± 0.1 meV, and the parameter of broadening of the excitonic peak is 2.2 ± 0.1 and 2.6 ± 0.1 meV at 17 and 80 K, respectively. The possible causes of radiative and nonradiative broadening of exciton states in the systems are discussed.     

Optical investigation of piezoelectric field effects on excitonic properties in (111)B-grown (In, Ga)As/GaAs quantum wells

The excitonic properties in two (111)B-grown In_0·15Ga_0·85As/GaAs multiple quantum well p-i-n diodes are investigated by thermally-detected optical absorption and electroreflectance rneasurements. The lineshape of the electroreflectance spectra is analysed by means of a multilayer model enabling the energies and the oscillator strengths of excitonic transitions to be deduced. The excitonic characteristic values are calculated by using a variational method. The determination of the variation of the binding energy with in-well field leads to an accurate value of the piezoelectric field in the InGaAs layers. The theoretical oscillator strengths are compared to those obtained from electroreflectance for different excitonic transitions.     

Excitonic molecules trapped by quantum dots and isoelectronic impurities in many-valley semiconductors

Excitonic molecules with two to six excitons trapped by quantum dots or isoelectronic impurity centers are studied theoretically and experimentally for the first time. Such excitonic molecules can exist only in many-valley semiconductors. A model of an excitonic molecule, valid for a large number of valleys in the conduction and valence bands, is examined. The formation kinetics of excitonic molecules is discussed. A material feature of excitonic molecules bound on quantum dots is the existence of tunneling transitions of excitons between quantum dots. Fiz. Tekh. Poluprovodn. 33, 1123–1125 (September 1999)     

Photoluminescence and electroreflectance studies of modulation-doped pseudomorphic AlGaAs/InGaAs/GaAs quantum wells

In this study, we describe the correlations between the photoluminescence (PL) spectra and electrical properties of pseudomorphic modulation-doped AlGaAs/InGaAs/GaAs quantum wells (MDQWs) grown by molecular beam epitaxy. In MDQWs, the presence of a large sheet carrier density contributes significantly to the PL linewidth. At low temperatures (4.2 K), free carrier induced broadening of the PL linewidth is influenced by the material quality of the structure. At higher temperatures (77 K), differences in the material quality do not affect the linewidth significantly, and under these conditions the PL linewidth is a good measure of the sheet carrier density. The ratio of the 77 K to 4.2 K PL linewidths provides useful information about the crystalline quality of the MDQW structures as illustrated by the correlation with 77 K Hall mobility data and a simple model. We present results of Electron Beam Electroreflectance (EBER) to characterize MDQWs and undoped quantum wells in the AlGaAs/InGaAs/GaAs material system. Several transitions have been observed and fitted to excitonic Lorentzian lineshapes, providing accurate estimates of transition energy and broadening parameter at temperatures of 96 K and 300 K.     

GaInAs/AlGaAs应变量子阱结构的荧光特性

本文报道了4—300K温度范围内量子阱宽度分别为20、40、90和130A的GaInAs/AlGaAs应变量子阱结构的光荧光特性。我们考虑量子尺寸对载流子子能带的影响和弹性应变引起带隙的移动,计算了量子阱中本征激子发光的能量位置,计算值与实验结果基本吻合。还研究了荧光峰强度随阱宽的变化以及不同温度下荧光峰的半高宽度。     

Theoretical investigation of an integrated all-opticalcontroller-modulator device using QCSE in a multiquantum wellphototransistor

Theoretical investigation of an all-optical controller-modulator device based on excitonic transitions for the purpose of a general logic implementation are discussed. The device is based on the quantum confined Stark effect of the heavy-hole excitonic transition in a multiquantum well. The device consists of three basic elements: modulator, controller, and load. The controller is a heterojunction phototransistor with multiquantum wells in the base-collector depletion region. This allows an amplified photocurrent-controlled voltage feedback with low light levels, allowing one to change the state of the modulator. A detailed analysis of the sensitivity of this device in various modes of operation (i.e. floating base and contacted base) is presented. Studies on the cascadability of the device as well as its integrating-threshold properties are also presented. Switching of the resistive load and optically active load with less than 10 μW total power is demonstrated to be feasible