Non-equilibrium hole capture to excited acceptor states in quantum wells due to optical scattering

Abstract

The probability of optical-phonon-assisted scattering of non-equilibrium holes to excited acceptor states in GaAs/AlGaAs quantum wells is considered. In the model we used, a well-known expression for the probability of intersubband optical scattering of two-dimensional carriers was expanded to the case when the final hole state is the excited state of an acceptor center. The temperature dependences of the probability of hole capture to excited acceptor states with simultaneous optical phonon emission are calculated. The result allows one to estimate the contribution of optical scattering to the experimentally observed terahertz electroluminescence due to intracenter carrier transitions.