Abstract
A mechanism is proposed for obtaining intraband population inversion of electrons in size-quantization levels through the injection of electron-hole pairs into the i region of a heterostructure with quantum wells or quantum dots. Key elements of the mechanism are the simultaneous generation of interband (hv≈E g ) near-IR radiation and the presence of a “metastable” level. In quantum wells such a level can be produced by making use of the weak overlap of the wave functions of electrons in the levels of a quantum well of complicated configuration and exploiting the characteristic features of the interaction of electrons with optical phonons in polar semiconductors. In quantum dots such a level forms as a result of the phonon bottleneck effect. Estimates are made of the gain for mid-IR radiation in intraband optical transitions of electrons.
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Pis’ma Zh. Éksp. Teor. Fiz. 68, No. 5, 392–399 (10 September 1998)
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Vorob’ev, L.E. Intraband population inversion and amplification of IR radiation through charge-carrier injection into quantum wells and quantum dots. Jetp Lett. 68, 417–425 (1998). https://doi.org/10.1134/1.567883
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1134/1.567883