Optical Testing of Probability Densities in Quantum Well Eigenstates

Abstract

Probing on a microscopic scale the electronic or structural properties of solids has always constituted a challenge. In this field, the insertion and study of local probes inside the material is a fruitful approach. With this respect, the case of isoelectronic impurities in the study of semiconductors gave nice illustrations of which kind of informations can be obtained. The study of the excitons trapped on the isolated impurity N in GaAs_XP_1−X yielded an insight on the local arrangement of atoms around the impurity and thus on the disorder in these materials¹. The choice of the isoelectronic impurities to study bulk three-dimensional semiconductors is however restricted. In particular, in optical studies, they yield poor information unless they cause additional optical transitions situated in the band gap. In three dimension materials, they must thus create strong attractive potential either for electron or holes. The impurities have thus to be far in the periodic classification from the element they will be substituted to. Their size will be very different and so the localized character of the potential they create is also lowered by the complicated deformation they induce in the host matrix.