Secondary emission and acoustic-phonon scattering induced by strong magnetic fields in multiple quantum wells

A strong increase of low-frequency Raman scattering has been observed in GaAs/${\mathrm{Al}}_{\mathit{x}}$${\mathrm{Ga}}_{1\mathrm{-}\mathit{x}}$As multiple quantum wells in magnetic fields up to 14 T. The spectra, consisting of background scattering, folded acoustic phonons, and additional features, show resonant behavior with respect to the laser frequency and the strength of the magnetic field. The broad background, usually related to geminate recombination, has its origin in a continuum of Raman processes with the emission of longitudinal-acoustic phonons where crystal momentum is not conserved. Such processes can become dominant when interface fluctuations allow for resonant scattering in individual quantum wells only. Thus phonons with all possible energies contribute to the background scattering efficiency. The observed folded longitudinal-acoustic phonons are in good agreement with calculated frequencies. Additional features, detected in all samples measured, are attributed to local vibrational modes tied to the gaps at the folded Brillouin-zone center and edge. Other peculiarities observed correspond to modes localized at crossings of the folded longitudinal- and transverse-acoustic branches inside the Brillouin zone. The appearance of these local modes is attributed to fluctuations in the well and barrier thicknesses of the quantum wells.