Challenges
Datasets
Workspaces
Papers
Discussions
Leaderboard
Log inSign up
Challenges
Datasets
Workspaces
Papers
Discussions
Leaderboard
Blog
Job Board
Q3AS

© 2026 Aqora Quantum S.A.S.

TermsPrivacyLegal Notice

Physical Review Letters

Collective effects in excitonic free induction decay: Do semiconductors and atoms emit coherent light in different ways?

Shimon Weiss, Mary‐Ann Mycek, J.‐Y. Bigot, Stefan Schmitt-Rink, D. S. Chemla

Published Nov 2, 1992• 173 citations
Publisher

Abstract

We show that the many-body interactions among excitons govern the temporal line shape of the coherent (free induction decay) emission from semiconductor quantum walls. At low exciton densities, they become the dominant contribution to the emission.
DOI
10.1103/physrevlett.69.2685

Related papers

Correlation effects in the excitonic optical properties of semiconductors

S. W. Koch, M. Kira, T. Meier

A microscopic many-body theory for the optical and electronic properties of semiconductors is reviewed with an emphasis on the role of correlation effects. At the semiclassical level, the semiconductor Bloch equations include many-body effects via bandgap and field renormalization as well as correlation contributions representing two electron-hole pair amplitudes, excitonic populations, and coupled interband and intraband coherences. These Coulomb interaction induced carrier correlations lead to characteristic signatures in nonlinear semiconductor spectroscopy. At the fully quantum mechanical level the dominant light-matter correlations are described by coupled semiconductor Bloch and luminescence equations. Excitonic emission properties of quantum well and microcavity systems are discussed, including effects such as coherent signatures in the secondary emission and coherent control of the emitted light.

Journal of Optics B Quantum and Semiclassical Optics•Sep 17, 2001•25 citations

Temporal Coherent Control in Semiconductor Quantum Structures

P. Renucci, M. Paillard, X. Marie +3 more

Temporal coherent control experiment have been performed on semiconductor quantum well structures, using a sequence of polarized excitation pulses. The oscillatory behaviour of the populations, spin and alignment of the exciton states are observed through the time resolved secondary emission when the time separation between the two excitation pulses is varied. We show that, in specular detection direction, for bare quantum wells at 10 K and low exciton densities, the oscillations amplitude decay is determined by the exciton inhomogeneous broadening. In non-specular detection directions however, when the SE is dominated by resonant Rayleigh scattering, the decay is longer and becomes temperature dependent, which strongly supports that it is now determined by the exciton dephasing time.

physica status solidi (a)•Mar 1, 2000•4 citations

Coherent exciton-continuum coupling in semiconductors

Steven T. Cundiff, M. Koch, Wayne H. Knox +2 more

Summary form only given. Despite recent effort, there are aspects of the transient four-wave-mixing (TFWM) response of semiconductors that remain puzzling. By performing partially nondegenerate TFWM (PND-TFWM) we show that for broadband excitation, the signal emitted at the 1 s exciton is dominated by contributions that correspond to excitation of higher states by the first pulse. The interference of these contributions results in the rapid decay of the excitonic signal. Our results demonstrate that, because TFWM is inherently a many-particle phenomenon, the many-body interactions always couple the excitonic transitions.

Quantum Electronics and Laser Science Conference•Jun 7, 1996•0 citations

Many-Body Quantum Theory of Spontaneous Emission of Semiconductor Quantum Wells

S. Kuckenburg, Angela Thränhardt, A. Knorr +3 more

A fully microscopic quantum theory for the photoluminescence of a semiconductor quantum well is summarized. The dynamic equations for the interacting electron–hole pairs (excitons), phonons and photons are presented and specialized for the situations of interacting electron–hole populations and low density excitonic populations. Signatures of phonon assisted exciton formation are discussed in the low density limit, where the early dynamics is found to be strongly dependent on the emission angle. For long times the decay can be described by an angle-independent decay rate.

physica status solidi (a)•Mar 1, 2000•2 citations

Quantum theory of phonon-assisted exciton formation and luminescence in semiconductor quantum wells

Angela Thränhardt, S. Kuckenburg, A. Knorr +2 more

The phonon scattering assisted luminescence of semiconductor quantum well excitons after short pulse excitation is investigated. The presented analysis is based on the low-density limit of a set of equations for quantum correlation functions for electrons, phonons, and photons. The dynamics of the correlation functions describes the optical excitation and the decay of the coherent exciton polarization as well as the generation of an incoherent exciton occupation and its luminescence decay. Numerical solutions of the equations of motion demonstrate strong competition effects of the exciton-phonon and the exciton-photon interaction on a picosecond time scale and lead to a nonmonotonous temperature dependence of the time-resolved spontaneous emission. The angle resolved emission resembles the generation and decay dynamics of the exciton density for different in-plane momenta.

Physical review. B, Condensed matter•Jul 15, 2000•95 citations

Coherent excitonic effects in quantum wells

Jagdeep Shah, D. S. KIM

Coherent transient spectroscopy of semiconductor nanostructures has become an active field of research in recent years. Most such experiments are analyzed in terms of a simple two-level model in which the effects of interaction and induced fields are ignored. We discuss two very different cases where inclusion of these generally-neglected effects leads to large and important modification in the temporal response of the system. In the first case, interactions between excitons strongly modify the temporal response of four-wave-mixing (FWM) signals from quantum wells. This is the temporal analog of well-known effects in the spectral domain, such as bleaching of the exciton absorption and bandgap renormalization. In the second case, the shape of a low-intensity pulse is severely distorted after transmission through a typical quantum well sample. Interferometric measurements show that reradiation of induced polarization is responsible for the distortion. The distortion depends strongly on the dephasing time and has important implications for all time-resolved measurements. 1.

Journal de Physique IV (Proceedings)•Oct 1, 1993•1 citation
A microscopic many-body theory for the optical and electronic properties of semiconductors is reviewed with an emphasis on the role of correlation effects. At the semiclassical level, the semiconductor Bloch equations include many-body effects via bandgap and field renormalization as well as correlation contributions representing two electron-hole pair amplitudes, excitonic populations, and coupled interband and intraband coherences. These Coulomb interaction induced carrier correlations lead to characteristic signatures in nonlinear semiconductor spectroscopy. At the fully quantum mechanical level the dominant light-matter correlations are described by coupled semiconductor Bloch and luminescence equations. Excitonic emission properties of quantum well and microcavity systems are discussed, including effects such as coherent signatures in the secondary emission and coherent control of the emitted light.
Temporal coherent control experiment have been performed on semiconductor quantum well structures, using a sequence of polarized excitation pulses. The oscillatory behaviour of the populations, spin and alignment of the exciton states are observed through the time resolved secondary emission when the time separation between the two excitation pulses is varied. We show that, in specular detection direction, for bare quantum wells at 10 K and low exciton densities, the oscillations amplitude decay is determined by the exciton inhomogeneous broadening. In non-specular detection directions however, when the SE is dominated by resonant Rayleigh scattering, the decay is longer and becomes temperature dependent, which strongly supports that it is now determined by the exciton dephasing time.
Summary form only given. Despite recent effort, there are aspects of the transient four-wave-mixing (TFWM) response of semiconductors that remain puzzling. By performing partially nondegenerate TFWM (PND-TFWM) we show that for broadband excitation, the signal emitted at the 1 s exciton is dominated by contributions that correspond to excitation of higher states by the first pulse. The interference of these contributions results in the rapid decay of the excitonic signal. Our results demonstrate that, because TFWM is inherently a many-particle phenomenon, the many-body interactions always couple the excitonic transitions.
A fully microscopic quantum theory for the photoluminescence of a semiconductor quantum well is summarized. The dynamic equations for the interacting electron–hole pairs (excitons), phonons and photons are presented and specialized for the situations of interacting electron–hole populations and low density excitonic populations. Signatures of phonon assisted exciton formation are discussed in the low density limit, where the early dynamics is found to be strongly dependent on the emission angle. For long times the decay can be described by an angle-independent decay rate.
The phonon scattering assisted luminescence of semiconductor quantum well excitons after short pulse excitation is investigated. The presented analysis is based on the low-density limit of a set of equations for quantum correlation functions for electrons, phonons, and photons. The dynamics of the correlation functions describes the optical excitation and the decay of the coherent exciton polarization as well as the generation of an incoherent exciton occupation and its luminescence decay. Numerical solutions of the equations of motion demonstrate strong competition effects of the exciton-phonon and the exciton-photon interaction on a picosecond time scale and lead to a nonmonotonous temperature dependence of the time-resolved spontaneous emission. The angle resolved emission resembles the generation and decay dynamics of the exciton density for different in-plane momenta.
Coherent transient spectroscopy of semiconductor nanostructures has become an active field of research in recent years. Most such experiments are analyzed in terms of a simple two-level model in which the effects of interaction and induced fields are ignored. We discuss two very different cases where inclusion of these generally-neglected effects leads to large and important modification in the temporal response of the system. In the first case, interactions between excitons strongly modify the temporal response of four-wave-mixing (FWM) signals from quantum wells. This is the temporal analog of well-known effects in the spectral domain, such as bleaching of the exciton absorption and bandgap renormalization. In the second case, the shape of a low-intensity pulse is severely distorted after transmission through a typical quantum well sample. Interferometric measurements show that reradiation of induced polarization is responsible for the distortion. The distortion depends strongly on the dephasing time and has important implications for all time-resolved measurements. 1.