221 research outputs found
Enhancement of the Binding Energy of Charged Excitons in Disordered Quantum Wires
Negatively and positively charged excitons are identified in the
spatially-resolved photoluminescence spectra of quantum wires. We demonstrate
that charged excitons are weakly localized in disordered quantum wires. As a
consequence, the enhancement of the "binding energy" of a charged exciton is
caused, for a significant part, by the recoil energy transferred to the
remaining charged carrier during its radiative recombination. We discover that
the Coulomb correlation energy is not the sole origin of the "binding energy",
in contrast to charged excitons confined in quantum dots.Comment: 4 Fig
Exciton and negative trion dissociation by an external electric field in vertically coupled quantum dots
We study the Stark effect for an exciton confined in a pair of vertically
coupled quantum dots. A single-band approximation for the hole and a parabolic
lateral confinement potential are adopted which allows for the separation of
the lateral center-of-mass motion and consequently for an exact numerical
solution of the Schr\"odinger equation. We show that for intermediate tunnel
coupling the external electric field leads to the dissociation of the exciton
via an avoided crossing of bright and dark exciton energy levels which results
in an atypical form of the Stark shift. The electric-field-induced dissociation
of the negative trion is studied using the approximation of frozen lateral
degrees of freedom. It is shown that in a symmetric system of coupled dots the
trion is more stable against dissociation than the exciton. For an asymmetric
system of coupled dots the trion dissociation is accompanied by a positive
curvature of the recombination energy line as a function of the electric field.Comment: PRB - in prin
Manipulation of the Spin Memory of Electrons in n-GaAs
We report on the optical manipulation of the electron spin relaxation time in
a GaAs based heterostructure. Experimental and theoretical study shows that the
average electron spin relaxes through hyperfine interaction with the lattice
nuclei, and that the rate can be controlled by the electron-electron
interactions. This time has been changed from 300 ns down to 5 ns by variation
of the laser frequency. This modification originates in the optically induced
depletion of n-GaAs layer
Photoluminescence investigations of 2D hole Landau levels in p-type single Al_{x}Ga_{1-x}As/GaAs heterostructures
We study the energy structure of two-dimensional holes in p-type single
Al_{1-x}Ga_{x}As/GaAs heterojunctions under a perpendicular magnetic field.
Photoluminescence measurments with low densities of excitation power reveal
rich spectra containing both free and bound-carrier transitions. The
experimental results are compared with energies of valence-subband Landau
levels calculated using a new numerical procedure and a good agreement is
achieved. Additional lines observed in the energy range of free-carrier
recombinations are attributed to excitonic transitions. We also consider the
role of many-body effects in photoluminescence spectra.Comment: 13 pages, 10 figures, accepted to Physical Review
Negatively Charged Excitons and Photoluminescence in Asymmetric Quantum Well
We study photoluminescence (PL) of charged excitons () in narrow
asymmetric quantum wells in high magnetic fields B. The binding of all
states strongly depends on the separation of electron and hole layers.
The most sensitive is the ``bright'' singlet, whose binding energy decreases
quickly with increasing even at relatively small B. As a result, the
value of B at which the singlet--triplet crossing occurs in the spectrum
also depends on and decreases from 35 T in a symmetric 10 nm GaAs well
to 16 T for nm. Since the critical values of at which
different states unbind are surprisingly small compared to the well
width, the observation of strongly bound states in an experimental PL
spectrum implies virtually no layer displacement in the sample. This casts
doubt on the interpretation of PL spectra of heterojunctions in terms of
recombination
Theory of neutral and charged exciton scattering with electrons in semiconductor quantum wells
Electron scattering on both neutral () and charged () excitons in
quantum wells is studied theoretically. A microscopic model is presented,
taking into account both elastic and dissociating scattering. The model is
based on calculating the exciton-electron direct and exchange interaction
matrix elements, from which we derive the exciton scattering rates. We find
that for an electron density of in a GaAs QW at ,
the linewidth due to electron scattering is roughly twice as large as
that of the neutral exciton. This reflects both the larger interaction
matrix elements compared with those of , and their different dependence on
the transferred momentum. Calculated reflection spectra can then be obtained by
considering the three electronic excitations of the system, namely, the
heavy-hole and light-hole 1S neutral excitons, and the heavy-hole 1S charged
exciton, with the appropriate oscillator strengths.Comment: 18 pages, 12 figure
Impaired frequency selectivity and sensitivity to temporal fine structure, but not envelope cues, in children with mild-to-moderate sensorineural hearing loss.
Psychophysical thresholds were measured for 8-16 year-old children with mild-to-moderate sensorineural hearing loss (MMHL; N = 46) on a battery of auditory processing tasks that included measures designed to be dependent upon frequency selectivity and sensitivity to temporal fine structure (TFS) or envelope cues. Children with MMHL who wore hearing aids were tested in both unaided and aided conditions, and all were compared to a group of normally hearing (NH) age-matched controls. Children with MMHL performed more poorly than NH controls on tasks considered to be dependent upon frequency selectivity, sensitivity to TFS, and speech discrimination (/bɑ/-/dɑ/), but not on tasks measuring sensitivity to envelope cues. Auditory processing deficits remained regardless of age, were observed in both unaided and aided conditions, and could not be attributed to differences in nonverbal IQ or attention between groups. However, better auditory processing in children with MMHL was predicted by better audiometric thresholds and, for aided tasks only, higher levels of maternal education. These results suggest that, as for adults with MMHL, children with MMHL may show deficits in frequency selectivity and sensitivity to TFS, but sensitivity to the envelope may remain intact.Economic and Social Research Council First Grants Award (RES-061-25-
0440) and Medical Research Council Senior Fellowship in
Hearing Research (MR/S002464/1) awarded to L.F.H
Unintentional high density p-type modulation doping of a GaAs/AlAs core-multi-shell nanowire
Achieving significant doping in GaAs/AlAs core/shell nanowires (NWs) is of
considerable technological importance but remains a challenge due to the
amphoteric behavior of the dopant atoms. Here we show that placing a narrow
GaAs quantum well in the AlAs shell effectively getters residual carbon
acceptors leading to an \emph{unintentional} p-type doping. Magneto-optical
studies of such a GaAs/AlAs core multi-shell NW reveal quantum confined
emission. Theoretical calculations of NW electronic structure confirm quantum
confinement of carriers at the core/shell interface due to the presence of
ionized carbon acceptors in the 1~nm GaAs layer in the shell.
Micro-photoluminescence in high magnetic field shows a clear signature of
avoided crossings of the Landau level emission line with the Landau
level TO phonon replica. The coupling is caused by the resonant hole-phonon
interaction, which points to a large 2D hole density in the structure.Comment: just published in Nano Letters
(http://pubs.acs.org/doi/full/10.1021/nl500818k
Binding Energy of Charged Excitons in ZnSe-based Quantum Wells
Excitons and charged excitons (trions) are investigated in ZnSe-based quantum
well structures with (Zn,Be,Mg)Se and (Zn,Mg)(S,Se) barriers by means of
magneto-optical spectroscopy. Binding energies of negatively () and positively
(X+) charged excitons are measured as functions of quantum well width, free
carrier density and in external magnetic fields up to 47 T. The binding energy
of shows a strong increase from 1.4 to 8.9 meV with decreasing quantum well
width from 190 to 29 A. The binding energies of X+ are about 25% smaller than
the binding energy in the same structures. The magnetic field behavior of and
X+ binding energies differ qualitatively. With growing magnetic field strength,
increases its binding energy by 35-150%, while for X+ it decreases by 25%.
Zeeman spin splittings and oscillator strengths of excitons and trions are
measured and discussed
Burnout in health-care professionals during reorganizations and downsizing. A cohort study in nurses
Background: Burnout is a psychological reaction triggered by interaction between personal characteristics and stress factors. Reorganizations and downsizing with increased workload imply stress for health-care professionals. This is a study of burnout in nurses during a period with two comprehensive reorganizations. Methods: In this quasi-experimental retrospective cohort study, burnout was assessed in nurses with long work experience in three surveys during a 30 months' period with two comprehensive reorganizations and downsizing of a hospital unit with mostly seriously ill patients with cancer. Burnout was measured with Bergen Burnout Indicator (BBI) at each survey, and "Sense of Coherence" (SOC) with Antonovsky's questionnaire at the last survey. Results: One man and 45 women aged 30 to 65 years were invited to the surveys. There was a significant increase in burnout during the study period, the mean increase in BBI-score was 12.5 pr year (p<0.001). The proportion of satisfied nurses at the first and last survey were 84% and 35% respectively, and the proportions with burnout were 0% and 29% respectively (p<0.001). Except for auxiliary nurses with experience from the medical department, all subgroups experienced a significant increase in BBI. Burnout was associated with low SOC (p<0.001, r square 0.33). Conclusions: There was a significant development of burnout in a group of nurses during a period with two reorganizations and downsizing. Burnout was associated with low SOC. Working with seriously ill patients with cancer has probably made the nurses exceptionally vulnerable to the stress and workload related to the reorganizations
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