Ambipolar tunneling in near-surface quantum wells

TL;DR

This paper investigates ambipolar tunneling in near-surface quantum wells, revealing how self-consistent electric fields induce Stark shifts in photoluminescence, aligning with experimental observations.

Contribution

It provides a theoretical model explaining the Stark shift in photoluminescence due to ambipolar tunneling in near-surface quantum wells, validated by experimental data.

Findings

Self-consistent electric fields develop under steady-state excitation.

The Stark shift matches experimental data from GaAs/AlGaAs quantum wells.

Ambipolar tunneling influences photoluminescence properties.

Abstract

We study the photoluminescence from a near-surface quantum well in the regime of ambipolar tunneling to the surface states. Under steady-state excitation an electric field develops self-consistently due to the condition of equal tunneling currents for electrons and holes. The field induces a Stark shift of the photoluminescence signal which compares well with experimental data from near-surface GaAs/AlGaAs single quantum wells.