We study the evolution of the absorption spectrum of a modulation doped GaAs/AlGaAs semiconductor quantum well with decreasing the carrier density. We find that there is a critical density which marks the transition from a Fermi edge singularity to a hydrogen-like behavior. At this density both the lineshape and the transitions energies of the excitons change. We study the density dependence of the singularity exponent $alpha $ and show that disorder plays an important role in determining the energy scale over which it grows.
Wave functions of heavy-hole excitons in GaAs/Al$_{0.3}$Ga$_{0.7}$As square quantum wells (QWs) of various widths are calculated by the direct numerical solution of a three-dimensional Schrodinger equation using a finite-difference scheme. These wave
functions are then used to determine the exciton-exciton, exciton-electron and exciton-hole fermion exchange constants in a wide range of QW widths (5-150 nm). Additionally, the spin-dependent matrix elements of elastic exciton-exciton, exciton-electron and exciton-hole scattering are calculated. From these matrix elements, the collisional broadening of the exciton resonance is obtained within the Born approximation as a function of the areal density of excitons, electrons and holes respectively for QW widths of 5, 15, 30 and 50 nm. The obtained numerical results are compared with other theoretical works.
Thanks to their multi-valley, anisotropic, energy band structure, two-dimensional electron systems (2DESs) in modulation-doped AlAs quantum wells (QWs) provide a unique platform to investigate electron interaction physics and ballistic transport. Ind
eed, a plethora of phenomena unseen in other 2DESs have been observed over the past decade. However, a foundation for sample design is still lacking for AlAs 2DESs, limiting the means to achieve optimal quality samples. Here we present a systematic study on the fabrication of modulation-doped AlAs and GaAs QWs over a wide range of AlxGa1-xAs barrier alloy compositions. Our data indicate clear similarities in modulation doping mechanisms for AlAs and GaAs, and provide guidelines for the fabrication of very high quality AlAs 2DESs. We highlight the unprecedented quality of the fabricated AlAs samples by presenting the magnetotransport data for low density (~1X1011 cm2) AlAs 2DESs that exhibit high-order fractional quantum Hall signatures.
We report on the kinetics of the inner ring in the exciton emission pattern. The formation time of the inner ring following the onset of the laser excitation is found to be about 30 ns. The inner ring was also found to disappear within 4 ns after the
laser termination. The latter process is accompanied by a jump in the photoluminescence (PL) intensity. The spatial dependence of the PL-jump indicates that the excitons outside of the region of laser excitation, including the inner ring region, are efficiently cooled to the lattice temperature even during the laser excitation. The ring formation and disappearance are explained in terms of exciton transport and cooling.
The dependences of the transport scattering time {tau}t, quantum lifetime {tau}q, and their ratio {tau}t/{tau}q on the density ne of the electron gas in modulation-doped single GaAs quantum wells with AlAs/GaAs short-period super-lattice barriers are
investigated. The experimental dependences are explained in terms of electron scattering by remote ionized donors with an effective two-dimensional concentration n*R and background impurities with a three-dimensional concentration nB. An expression for n*R(ne) is obtained including the contribution of X-valley electrons localized in AlAs layers to the suppression of scattering by the random potential of remote donors. It is shown that the experimentally observed abrupt increase in {tau}t and {tau}q with an increase in ne above a certain critical value nec is related to a decrease in n*R. It is established that the drop in {tau}t/{tau}q observed for electron densities ne > nec occurs because scattering by the random potential of background impurities in this two-dimensional system with a decrease in n*R limits an increase in {tau}t more considerably than an increase in {tau}q.
Negative longitudinal magnetoresistances (NLMRs) have been recently observed in a variety of topological materials and often considered to be associated with Weyl fermions that have a defined chirality. Here we report NLMRs in non-Weyl GaAs quantum w
ells. In the absence of a magnetic field the quantum wells show a transition from semiconducting-like to metallic behaviour with decreasing temperature. We observed pronounced NLMRs up to 9 Tesla at temperatures above the transition and weak NLMRs in low magnetic fields at temperatures close to the transition and below 5 K. The observed NLMRs show various types of magnetic field behaviour resembling those reported in topological materials. We attribute them to microscopic disorder and use a phenomenological three-resistor model to account for their various features. Our results showcase a new contribution of microscopic disorder in the occurrence of novel phenomena. They may stimulate further work on tuning electronic properties via disorder/defect nano-engineering.