Conversion of hole states by acoustic solitons

TL;DR

This paper demonstrates that acoustic solitons can effectively switch hole states in semiconductor valence bands by inducing local elastic strain, with potential implications for quantum well applications.

Contribution

It introduces a novel method of using acoustic solitons to control hole states in semiconductors through strain-induced valence band splitting.

Findings

Acoustic solitons can switch hole states in silicon quantum wells.

The mechanism involves local elastic strain causing valence band splitting.

Efficient state conversion is demonstrated for heavy holes at acceptors.

Abstract

The hole states in the valence band of a large class of semiconductors are degenerate in the projections of angular momentum. Here we show that the switching of a hole between the states can efficiently be realized by acoustic solitons. The microscopic mechanism of such a state conversion is related to the valence band splitting by local elastic strain. The conversion is studied here for heavy holes localized at shallow and deep acceptors in silicon quantum wells.