Femtosecond carrier dynamics in biased heterostructure diodes is investigated tracing transient modifications of the Franz-Keldysh absorption spectrum. The nonlinear optical response is sensitive to the number of electron-hole pairs in the high-field region of the sample. As a result, the dynamical buildup of a nonequilibrium carrier avalanche due to impact ionization for electric fields is directly analyzed in the time domain. The time scale of the carrier multiplication is found to be in the order of depending on the number of photoinjected carriers. Monte Carlo simulations in a simplified band structure agree well with the experiment.
REFERENCES
1.
J. E.
Pedersen
, V. G.
Lyssenko
, J. M.
Hvam
, P.
Uhd Jepsen
, S. R.
Keiding
, C. B.
Sjorensen
, and P. E.
Lindelof
, Appl. Phys. Lett.
62
, 1265
(1993
).2.
A.
Leitenstorfer
, S.
Hunsche
, J.
Shah
, M. C.
Nuss
, and W. H.
Knox
, Phys. Rev. Lett.
82
, 5140
(1999
).3.
A.
Leitenstorfer
, S.
Hunsche
, J.
Shah
, M. C.
Nuss
, and W. H.
Knox
, Phys. Rev. B
61
, 16642
(2000
).4.
H.
Heesel
, S.
Hunsche
, H.
Mikkelsen
, T.
Dekorsy
, K.
Leo
, and H.
Kurz
, Phys. Rev. B
47
, 16000
(1993
).5.
M.
Wraback
, H.
Shen
, J. D.
Carrano
, C. J.
Collins
, J. C.
Campbell
, R. D.
Dupuis
, M. J.
Schurman
, and I. T.
Ferguson
, Appl. Phys. Lett.
79
, 1303
(2001
).6.
A.
Schwanhäußer
, M.
Betz
, M.
Eckardt
, S.
Trumm
, L.
Robledo
, S.
Malzer
, A.
Leitenstorfer
, and G. H.
Döhler
, Phys. Rev. B
70
, 085211
(2004
).7.
S.
Picozzi
, R.
Asahi
, C. B.
Geller
, and A. J.
Freeman
, Phys. Rev. Lett.
89
, 197601
(2002
).8.
S.
Picozzi
, R.
Asahi
, C. B.
Geller
, A.
Continenza
, and A. J.
Freeman
, Phys. Rev. B
65
, 113206
(2002
).9.
H.
Haug
and S. W.
Koch
, Quantum Theory of the Optical and Electronic Properties of Semiconductors
(World Scientific
, London
, 1990
).10.
L.
Robledo
, A.
Schwanhäußer
, M.
Eckardt
, G. H.
Döhler
, H.
Lutz
, A.
Seilmeier
, M.
Betz
, and A.
Leitenstorfer
, Physica E (Amsterdam)
13
, 708
(2002
).11.
C.
Fürst
, A.
Leitenstorfer
, and A.
Laubereau
, IEEE J. Sel. Top. Quantum Electron.
2
, 473
(1996
).12.
C.
Groves
, R.
Gihin
, J. P. R.
David
, and G. J.
Rees
, IEEE Trans. Electron Devices
50
, 2027
(2003
).13.
S.
Adachi
, Physical Properties III–V Semiconductor Compounds
(Wiley
, New York
, 1992
).14.
K.
Hess
, Advanced Theory of Semiconductor Devices
(Prentice-Hall
, Englewood Cliffs, NJ
, 1988
).15.
C.
Jacoboni
and L.
Reggiani
, Rev. Mod. Phys.
55
, 645
(1983
).16.
17.
D.
Harrison
, R. A.
Abram
, and S.
Brand
, J. Appl. Phys.
85
, 8178
(1991
).18.
S. A.
Plimmer
, J. P. R.
David
, D. C.
Herbert
, T.-W.
Lee
, G. J.
Rees
, P. A.
Houston
, R.
Grey
, P. N.
Robson
, A. W.
Higgs
, and D. R.
Wright
, IEEE Trans. Electron Devices
43
, 1066
(1996
).© 2006 American Institute of Physics.
2006
American Institute of Physics
You do not currently have access to this content.
