Photoluminescence lineshape features of carbon δ-doped GaAs heterostructures

Abstract

Photoluminescence lineshape properties of quasi-two-dimensional electron systems in setback δ-doped GaAs heterostructures are studied at liquid helium temperature. Contributions from the ground and the first excited two-dimensional subband are clearly observed. A simple fit to the lineshape including broadening demonstrates that there is an exponential low-energy tail associated with the ground subband. No such tail is observed for the first excited subband. The fit precisely reveals the subband bottom energies, the Fermi energy, the electron temperature and the recombination intensities. A self-consistent calculation of subband properties including the potential contribution of the setback δ-doping reproduces well the subband properties and the recombination intensities.