Complexity of dipolar exciton Mott transition in GaN/(AlGa)N nanostructures

TL;DR

This study investigates the complex Mott transition of dipolar excitons in GaN/(AlGa)N nanostructures at low temperature, revealing the interplay of density-dependent binding energy and excitonic correlations through spatially-resolved magneto-photoluminescence.

Contribution

It provides the first detailed analysis of the density-dependent Mott transition in GaN/(AlGa)N nanostructures, highlighting the role of excitonic correlations and spatial resolution in understanding the transition.

Findings

Mott transition occurs at carrier density ~2×10^11 cm^-2.

Excitonic correlations significantly influence the transition.

Transport of dipolar magnetoexcitons persists up to 9 T in GaN/(AlGa)N.

Abstract

The Mott transition from a dipolar excitonic liquid to an electron-hole plasma is demonstrated in a wide GaN/(Al,Ga)N quantum well at $T=7$K by means of spatially-resolved magneto-photoluminescence spectroscopy. Increasing optical excitation density we drive the system from the excitonic state, characterized by a diamagnetic behavior and thus a quadratic energy dependence on the magnetic field, to the unbound electron-hole state, characterized by a linear shift of the emission energy with the magnetic field. The complexity of the system requires to take into account both the density-dependence of the exciton binding energy and the exciton-exciton interaction and correlation energy that are of the same order of magnitude. We estimate the carrier density at Mott transition as $n_\mathrm{Mott}\approx 2\times 10^{11}$cm$^{-2}$ and address the role played by excitonic correlations in this process. Our results strongly rely on the spatial resolution of the photoluminescence and the assessment of the carrier transport. We show, that in contrast to GaAs/(Al,Ga)As systems, where transport of dipolar magnetoexcitons is strongly quenched by the magnetic field due to exciton mass enhancement, in GaN/(Al,Ga)N the band parameters are such that the transport is preserved up to $9$T.