Abstract

Disorder caused by non-ideal growth conditions in MQW’s has an important effect on the optical properties and relaxation dynamics of the lowest-energy excitons. Interface roughness leads to fluctuations in the potential energy and is the major origin of inhomogeneous broadening of the exciton optical resonance at low temperature. The broadening is from localization at potential energy minima by disorder-induced scattering of the extended exciton wave function. Experimental evidence suggests that in GaAs quantum wells, states below the absorption line center are localized but those above it are delocalized.

© 1991 Optical Society of America