Photoluminescence properties of modulation-doped In x Al1–x As/In y Ga1–y As/In x Al1–x As structures with strained inas and gaas nanoinserts in the quantum well

Abstract

The photoluminescence spectra of modulation-doped InAlAs/InGaAs/InAlAs heterostructures with quantum wells containing thin strained InAs and GaAs inserts are investigated. It is established that the insertion of pair InAs layers and/ or a GaAs transition barriers with a thickness of 1 nm into a quantum well leads to a change in the form and energy position of the photoluminescence spectra as compared with a uniform In0.53Ga0.47As quantum well. Simulation of the band structure shows that this change is caused by a variation in the energy and wave functions of holes. It is demonstrated that the use of InAs inserts leads to the localization of heavy holes near the InAs layers and reduces the energy of optical transitions, while the use of GaAs transition barriers can lead to inversion of the positions of the light- and heavy-hole subbands in the quantum well. A technique for separately controlling the light- and heavy-hole states by varying the thickness and position of the GaAs and InAs inserts in the quantum well is suggested.