Excitons in spatially separated ssV-shaped quantum wells: Application to GaAs sawtooth-doping superlattices

A variational calculation of the ground state of an exciton in spatially separated ssV-shaped quantum wells is presented. This is connected to the properties of excitons in sawtooth-doped superlattices. The binding energy, lateral extension, and vertical extension are calculated as functions of the superlattice period and δ-doping impurity concentration. In spite of the fact that electrons and holes are present in spatially separated regions, the binding energies are of magnitude similar to those found in compositional GaAs quantum wells.