University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign

Exciton transport and thermodynamics in gallium arsenide quantum wells

Yoon, Howard Wuk

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Description

Title
Exciton transport and thermodynamics in gallium arsenide quantum wells
Author(s)
Yoon, Howard Wuk
Issue Date
1994
Department of Study
Physics
Discipline
Physics
Degree Granting Institution
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Degree Name
Ph.D.
Degree Level
Dissertation
Keyword(s)
  • Physics, Condensed Matter
  • Physics, Optics
Language
eng
Abstract
This thesis describes the use of optical absorption and photoluminescence spectroscopy in understanding the spatial transport and energy relaxation of excitons in quantum well systems. I discuss the mechanism of carrier-induced changes in the absorption spectrum of a 210A GaAs multiple quantum well, and show that at moderate densities, the enhanced transmission at the heavy-hole exciton energy is due to collision broadening. I also discuss the time dependent and excitation-energy dependent energy shifts of the heavy-hole exciton. I use the changes induced in the absorption spectra due to the presence of carriers as a probe for measuring the spatial transport, and I describe the transport using an ionized-impurity scattering model. I also measure the carrier temperatures from the high energy slopes of the time-resolved photoluminescence spectra, and describe the roles of the carrier temperatures and carrier expansion on the time dynamics of the exciton luminescence intensity. In the last chapter, I study the transport properties of excitons in an asymmetric-coupled quantum well system, and explain the experimental results with a model based on interface-roughness scattering.
Type of Resource
text
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http://hdl.handle.net/2142/21921
Copyright and License Information
Copyright 1994 Yoon, Howard Wuk

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