Hot electron luminescence-a comparison of GaAs and InP

The radiative recombination of hot electrons at neutral acceptors in a polar semiconductor provides a subpicosecond probe of electron kinetics. This probe has several advantages. Experiments can be performed at low densities, so that carrier-carrier interactions can be ignored. Also, it is spectroscopic. Variation of the laser energy varies the initial energy of the nonequilibrium electrons, and the different peaks in the luminescence spectra correspond to readily identifiable populations of electrons.

© 1992 Optical Society of America