Optical imaging of trion diffusion and drift in GaAs quantum wells

F. Pulizzi, D. Sanvitto, P.C.M. Christianen, A.J. Shields, S.N. Holmes, M.Y. Simmons, D.A. Ritchie, M. Pepper, and J.C. Maan
Phys. Rev. B 68, 205304 – Published 7 November 2003
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Abstract

The in-plane motion of negatively charged excitons (X) in modulation-doped GaAs quantum wells (QW’s) was studied by means of spatially resolved photoluminescence spectroscopy. In the highest-quality QW’s, resonantly excited X were observed diffusing from the excitation region, characterized by a mobility as high as 6.5×104cm2V1s1, independent of temperature and electron density. Under the application of an electric field in the plane of the QW, X were found to drift in the direction opposite to the field, whereas neutral excitons (X) do not drift under similar conditions. The results demonstrate that X can exist as a free quasiparticle in the best-quality samples. The simultaneous motion of nonresonantly excited X and X was studied as a function of the electron density in the QW. The data reveal that the spatial distribution of X and X is mainly determined by the motion of X that locally form X.

  • Received 29 January 2003

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevB.68.205304

©2003 American Physical Society

Authors & Affiliations

F. Pulizzi1,*, D. Sanvitto2,3,†, P.C.M. Christianen1, A.J. Shields2, S.N. Holmes2, M.Y. Simmons3,‡, D.A. Ritchie3, M. Pepper2,3, and J.C. Maan1

  • 1Research Institute for Materials, High Field Magnet Laboratory, University of Nijmegen, Toernooiveld 1, 6525 ED Nijmegen, The Netherlands
  • 2Toshiba Research Europe Limited, Cambridge Research Laboratory, 260 Cambridge Science Park, Milton Road, Cambridge CB4 0WE, United Kingdom
  • 3Cavendish Laboratory, University of Cambridge, Madingley Road, Cambridge CB3 0HE, United Kingdom

  • *Present address: School of Physics and Astronomy, University of Nottingham, University Park, Nottingham NG7 2RD, United Kingdom. Electronic address: Fabio.Pulizzi@nottingham.ac.uk
  • Present address: Department of Physics, University of Sheffield, S3 7RH, United Kingdom.
  • Present address: School of Physics, University of New South Wales, Sydney 2052, Australia.

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Vol. 68, Iss. 20 — 15 November 2003

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