V. A. Tsvetkov

Electron-hole liquid and excitonic molecules in quasi-two-dimensional SiGe layers of Si/SiGe/Si heterostructures

The electron-hole liquid (EHL) in SiGe layers of Si/Si1 − xGex/Si quantum-confinement heterostructures is discovered. It is composed of quasi-two-dimensional holes in the quantum well formed by the SiGe layer and quasi-three-dimensional electrons, which occupy a wider region of space centered on this layer. The densities of electrons and holes in the EHL are determined to be p0 ≈ 8.5 × 1011 cm−2 and n0 ≈ 4.8 × 1018 cm−3, respectively. It is demonstrated that the gas phase consists of excitons and excitonic molecules. The conditions on the band parameters of the structure under which the formation of the EHL of this kind and biexcitons is possible are formulated.

Electron-hole liquid in strained SiGe layers of silicon heterostructures

The electron-hole liquid has been found in strained SiGe thin films of Si/Si1−xGex/Si heterostructures. The density and binding energy of the electron-hole liquid have been determined. Owing to the presence of internal strains in the SiGe layer, the density and binding energy are significantly smaller than the respective quantities for the electron-hole liquid in a bulk single crystal of the solid solution of the same composition. The critical temperature of the transition from the exciton gas to the electron-hole liquid is estimated using the experimental data. The Mott transition (from the exciton gas to electron-hole plasma) occurs above the critical temperatures for high excitation intensities.

Modulation of the resonant Rayleigh light scattering spectrum of GaAs/AlGaAs structures with quantum wells under above-barrier illumination

It is found that additional illumination by photons with energies above the band gap width in barrier layers leads to a strong (up to 40% in depth at the values of the illumination power used in this work) modulation of the light intensity elastically scattered upon resonant excitation of exciton states in quantum wells of GaAs/AlGaAs structures. Evidently, the effect observed is associated with the redistribution of oscillator strengths of exciton transitions due to the formation of three-particle exciton complexes (trions). These complexes arise through preferred capture of nonequilibrium like charge carriers (in our case, holes).

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/Al0.05Ga0.95As 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.

Dynamic characteristics of “low-temperature” gallium arsenide for terahertz-range generators and detectors

The lifetime of free photoexcited carriers in epitaxial films of “low-temperature” gallium arsenide (LT-GaAs) is determined by the pump-probe optical reflection method. The dark resistivity of LT-GaAs layers is estimated. Emission spectra of LT-GaAs photoconductive antennas are measured in the terahertz frequency region by the Fourier transform spectroscopy.

Nonlinear emission dynamics of a GaAs microcavity with embedded quantum wells

The emission dynamics of a GaAs microcavity at different angles of observation with respect to the sample normal under conditions of nonresonant picosecond-pulse excitation is measured. At sufficiently high excitation densities, the decay time of the lower polariton emission increases with the polariton wavevector; at low excitation densities the decay time is independent of the wavevector. The effect of additional nonresonant continuous illumination on the emission originating from the bottom of the lower polariton branch is investigated. The additional illumination leads to a substantial increase in the emission intensity (considerably larger than the intensity of the photoluminescence excited by this illumination alone). This fact is explained in terms of acceleration of the polariton relaxation to the radiative states due to scattering by charge carriers created by the additional illumination. The results obtained show that, at large negative detunings between the photon and exciton modes, polariton-polariton and polariton-free carrier scattering are the main processes responsible for the filling of states near the bottom of the lower polariton branch.

Morphological transformation of a germanium layer grown on a silicon surface by molecular-beam epitaxy at low temperatures

Multilayer Si/Ge nanostructures with germanium layers of different thicknesses are grown by molecular-beam epitaxy at low temperatures (<350°C) and studied using photoluminescence and atomic force microscopy. It is found that the germanium layer undergoes a morphological transformation when its thickness becomes equal to approximately five monolayers: an island relief transforms into a smooth undulating relief.

Kinetics of accumulation of excess holes under photoexcitation and their relaxation in GaAs/AlGaAs shallow quantum wells

The kinetics of accumulation of long-lived excess holes that appear in GaAs/Al0.05Ga0.95As shallow quantum wells under above-barrier photoexcitation and their relaxation is studied by time-resolved photoluminescence spectroscopy. The establishment of a steady state in the nonequilibrium electron-hole system under various combinations of above-barrier and intrawell excitation is also investigated. It is found that the temperature dependence of the excess-hole relaxation time (their lifetime in the quantum wells) exhibits activation behavior with two activation energies. It is established that excitons produced by nonresonant intrawell excitation undergo efficient cooling as they scatter off accumulated long-lived holes.

Accumulation of the excess of one type of charge carriers and the formation of trions in GaAs/AlGaAs shallow quantum wells

The dynamics of excitons and trions in GaAs/AlGaAs heterostructures with shallow quantum wells is studied in time-resolved photoluminescence experiments carried out with different repetition rates of picosecond pump pulses for the cases of intrawell, above-barrier, and“two-color” excitation. It is established that excess charge carriers of one type accumulated in the quantum wells under above-barrier excitation play a key role in the formation and dynamics of the exciton-trion system and determine its composition and kinetic properties. The lifetime of excess charge carriers in the quantum wells, estimated from the experimental data, exceeds 10 μs.

Effect of the excitation level on the thermal quenching and dynamics of the photoluminescence of GaAs/AlGaAs shallow quantum well structures

The effect of the excitation level on the dynamics of heavy-hole exciton photoluminescence in tunneling-isolated GaAs/AlxGa1 − xAs (x = 0.05) shallow quantum wells at temperatures of 5 to 70 K is investigated. It is shown that the exciton lifetimes depend strongly on the excitation level, while the activation energies characterizing the thermal escape of nonequilibrium charge carriers from the wells virtually do not.