Origin of the blueshift in the infrared absorbance of intersubband transitions in AlxGa1-x/GaN multiple quantum wells

A self-consistent calculation of the subband energy levels of n-doped quantum wells is studied. A comparison is made between theoretical results and experimental data. In order to account for the deviations between them, the ground-state electron-electron exchange interactions, the ground-state direct Coulomb interactions, the depolarization effect, and the exciton-like effect are considered in the simulations. The agreement between theory and experiment is greatly improved when all these aspects are taken into account. The ground-to-excited-state energy difference increases by 8 meV from its self-consistent value if one considers the depolarization effect and the exciton-like effect only. It appears that the electron-electron exchange interactions account for most of the observed residual blueshift for the infrared intersubband absorbance in AlxGa1-xN/GaN multiple quantum wells. It seems that electrons on the surface of the k-space Fermi gas make the main contribution to the electron-electron exchange interactions, while for electrons further inside the Fermi gas it is difficult to exchange their positions. (C) 2004 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Optimization of GaInNAs(Sb)/GaAs quantum wells at 1.3-1.55 mu m grown by molecular beam epitaxy

The InGaNAs(Sb)/(GaNAs)/GaAs quantum wells (QWs) emitting at 1.3-1.55 mu m have been grown by molecular beam epitaxy (MBE). The parameters of the radio frequency (RF) such as RF power and flow rate are optimized to reduce the damages from the ions or energetic species. The growth temperature is carefully controlled to prevent the phase segregation and strain relaxation. The effects of Sb on the wavelength and quality are investigated. The GaNAs barrier is used to extend the wavelength and reduce the strain. A 1.5865 mu m InGaNAs(Sb)/GaNAs SQW edge emitting laser lasing at room temperature at continuous wave operation mode is demonstrated. (c) 2006 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Intrasubband and intersubband transitions in GaAs/AlxGa1-xAs multiple quantum wells

Infrared absorption in GaAs/AlxGa1-xAs multiple quantum wells is investigated using a polarizer. Two main peaks, with wave numbers 723 and 1092 cm(-1), are observed. The peak with wave number 1092 cm(-1) corresponds to the 0 -> 1 intersubband transition, while the other one corresponds to the intrasubband transition. The polarized absorbance is one order of magnitude higher than the unpolarized one. The authors attribute the intrasubband transition to the plasma oscillation in the quantum wells.

Metamorphic InGaAs quantum wells for light emission at 1.3-1.6 mu m

Metamorphic InGaAs quantum well structures grown on GaAs reveal strong light emission at 1.3-1.6 mu m, smooth surface with an average roughness below 2 nm. and good rectifying I-V characteristics. Dark line defects are found in the QW Post growth thermal annealing further improves the luminescence efficiency but does not remove those dark line defects. Some challenges of epitaxial growth using this method for laser applications are discussed. (c) 2006 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Tunable giant Faraday rotation of exciton in semiconductor quantum wells embedded in a microcavity

The Faraday rotation of an exciton in a GaAs quantum well (QW) embedded in a microcavity is investigated theoretically. The authors find that the Faraday rotation is enhanced remarkably by the microcavity, with a magnitude about two orders of magnitude larger than that of a single QW without microcavity. The Faraday rotation can be tuned by changing the incident angle of the pump and probe lights, or by varying the temperature or an external electric field. With an appropriate detuning between the cavity mode of the pump and probe lights, the Faraday rotation spectrum displays a strongly asymmetric line shape, which can easily be detected experimentally.

Room-temperature photoluminescence of ZnO/MgO multiple quantum wells deposited by reactive magnetron sputtering

Wurtzite ZnO/MgO superlattices were successfully grown on Si (001) substrates at 750 degrees C using radio-frequency reactive magnetron sputtering method. X-ray reflection and diffraction, electronic probe and photoluminescence analysis were used to characterize the multiple quantum wells (MQWs). The results showed the periodic layer thickness of the MQWs to be 1.85 to 22.3 nm. The blueshift induced by quantum confinement was observed. Least square fitting method was used to deduce the zero phonon energy of the exciton from the room-temperature photoluminescence. It was found that the MgO barrier layers has a much larger offset than ZnMgO. The fluctuation of periodic layer thickness of the MQWs was suggested to be a possible reason causing the photoluminescence spectrum broadening.

Effect of an indium-doped barrier on enhanced near-ultraviolet emission from InGaN/AlGaN: In multiple quantum wells grown on Si(111)

Low indium content InGaN/AlGaN multiple quantum wells (MQWs) have been grown on Si(111) substrate by metal-organic chemical vapour deposition (MOCVD). A new method of using an isoelectronic indium-doped AlGaN barrier has been found to be very effective in improving the crystalline quality and interfacial abruptness of InGaN quantum well layers. We grew five periods of In0.06Ga0.94N/Al0.20Ga0.80N:In MQWs with In-doped barrier layers and obtained strong near-ultraviolet (UV) emission (similar to 400 nm) at room temperature. An In-doped AlGaN barrier improves the room-temperature PL intensity of InGaN/AlGaN MQWs, making it a candidate barrier for a near-UV source on Si substrate.

Non-exponential photoluminescence decay dynamics of localized carriers in disordered InGaN/GaN quantum wells: the role of localization length

In this article, we report a combined experimental and theoretical study on the luminescence dynamics of localized carriers in disordered InGaN/GaN quantum wells. The luminescence intensity of localized carriers is found to exhibit an unusual non-exponential decay. Adopting a new model taking the radiative recombination and phonon-assisted hopping transition between different localized states into account, which was recently developed by Rubel et al., the non-exponential decay behavior of the carriers can be quantitatively interpreted. Combining with precise structure characterization, the theoretical simulations show that the localization length of localized carriers is a key parameter governing their luminescence decay dynamics. (c) 2006 Optical Society of America.

Rapid photoluminescence quenching in GaInNAs quantum wells at low temperature

Temperature dependence of optical properties of GaInNAs/GaAs quantum wells (QWs) has been studied by photoluminescence (PL) and time-resolved PL. A rapid PL quenching is observed even at very low temperature and is of the excitation power dependence. These results strongly suggest that the non-radiative recombination process plays a very important role at low temperature. In the TRPL measurement the shape of the PL decay curve shows significant difference under different excitation powers. It is attributed to the different involvement of non-radiative recombination in the overall recombination process. The TRPL data are well fitted with the rate equation involving both the radiative and non-radiative recombination. (c) 2006 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Effective-mass theory for coupled quantum dots grown on (11N)-oriented substrates

The electronic structures of coupled quantum dots grown on (11N)-oriented substrates are studied in the framework of effective-mass envelope-function theory. The results show that the all-hole subbands have the smallest widths and the optical properties are best for the (113), (114), and (115) growth directions. Our theoretical results agree with the available experimental data. Our calculated results are useful for the application of coupled quantum dots in photoelectric devices.

Nonlinear Rashba model and spin relaxation in quantum wells

We find that the Rashba spin splitting is intrinsically a nonlinear function of the momentum, and the linear Rashba model may overestimate it significantly, especially in narrow-gap semiconductors. A nonlinear Rashba model is proposed, which is in good agreement with the numerical results from the eight-band k center dot p theory. Using this model, we find pronounced suppression of the D'yakonov-Perel' spin relaxation rate at large electron densities, and a nonmonotonic dependence of the resonance peak position of the electron spin lifetime on the electron density in [111]-oriented quantum wells, both in qualitative disagreement with the predictions of the linear Rashba model.

Design and fabrication of 1.06 mu m resonant-cavity enhanced reflective modulator with GaInAs/GaAs quantum wells

A resonant-cavity enhanced reflective optical modulator is designed and frabricated, with three groups of three highly strained InGaAS/GaAs quantum wells in the cavity, for the low voltage and high contrast ratio operation. The quantum wells are positioned in antinodes of the optical standing wave. The modulator is grown in a single growth step in an molecular beam epitaxy system, using GaAs/AIAs distributed Bragg reflectors as both the top and bottom mirrors. Results show that the reflection device has a modulation extinction of 3 dB at -4.5 V bias.

Effect of nonradiative recombination on carrier dynamics in GaInNAs/GaAs quantum wells

The nonradiative recombination effect on carrier dynamics in GaInNAs/GaAs quantum wells is studied by time-resolved photoluminescence (TRPL) and polarization-dependent TRPL at various excitation intensities. It is found that both recombination dynamics and spin relaxation dynamics strongly depend on the excitation intensity. Under moderate excitation intensities the PL decay curves exhibit unusual non-exponential behaviour. This result is well stimulated by a rate equation involving both the radiative and non-radiative recombinations via the introduction of a new parameter of the effective concentration of nonradiative recombination centres in the rate equation. In the spin dynamics study, the spin relaxation also shows strong excitation power dependence. Under the high excitation power an increase of spin polarization degree with time is observed. This new finding provides a useful hint that the spin process can be controlled by excitation power in GaInNAs systems.

Enhancement of photoluminescence intensity of GaInNAs/GaAs quantum wells by two-step rapid thermal annealing

We investigate the effect of rapid thermal annealing on InGaNAs/GaAs quantum wells. At optimized annealing temperatures and times, the greatest enhancement of the photoluminescence intensity is obtained by a special two-step annealing process. To identify the mechanism affecting the material quality during the rapid thermal annealing, differential temperature analysis is applied, and temperature- and power-dependent photoluminescence is carried out on the samples annealed under different conditions. Our experiment reveals that some composition redistribution or other related ordering process may occur in the quantum-well layer during annealing. Annealing at a lower temperature for a long time primarily can remove defects and dislocations while annealing at a higher temperature for a short time primarily homogenizes the composition in the quantum wells.

Large g factors of higher-lying excitons detected with reflectance difference spectroscopy in GaAs-based quantum wells

Exciton g factors in GaAs-based quantum wells (QWs) were evaluated by reflectance difference spectroscopy (RDS) under a weak magnetic field. The well-width dependence of the n=1 heavy-hole exciton (1H1E) g factor agrees well with the reported results, demonstrating RDS as a sensitive tool for detection of g factor. By comparison, the n=1 light-hole exciton g factor increases with the well width, and shows a larger value than that of 1H1E. In a 20-nm-wide Al0.02Ga0.98As/AlAs multiple QW sample, the g factors of up to ten excitons are obtained, and the higher-lying exciton g factors are found to be one order larger than that of the 1H1E exciton.