9.

Semiconductors Optics

•Absorption and gain in semiconductors

•Principle of semiconductor lasers (diode lasers)
•Low dimensional materials:
Quantum wells, wires and dots
•Quantum cascade lasers
•Semiconductor detectors
 Semiconductors Optics

Semiconductors in optics:
•Light emitters, including lasers and LEDs
•Detectors
•Amplifiers
•Waveguides and switches
•Absorbers and filters
•Nonlinear crystals
 The energy bands

One atom Two interacting atoms N interacting atoms

Eg
Insulator Conductor Semiconductors
(metals)
 Doped semiconductor

n-type p-type
 Interband transistion

h  E g h  E g

  nanoseconds in GaAs
Intraband transitions

  < ps in GaAs

n-type
 UV

Optical fiber
communication
GaAs ZnSe InP
Bandgap rules

The bandgap increases with decreasing lattice

constant.

The bandgap decreases with increasing

temperature.
 Interband vs Intraband
Interband: C
Most semiconductor devices operated based
on the interband transitions, namely between
the conduction and valence bands.
The devices are usually bipolar involving a p-
n junction.
V

Intraband:
A new class of devices, such as the quantum
cascade lasers, are based on the transitions
between the sub-bands in the conduction or
valence bands.
C
The intraband devices are unipolar.
Faster than the intraband devices
Interband transitions E

2 2
Conduction band  k
E (k ) 
2mc
k

Valence band
 E

Conduction band
 2k 2
E (k ) 
2mc
Eg
k

Valence band

Examples:
mc=0.08 me for conduction band in GaAs
m =0.46 m for valence band in GaAs
 Direct vs. indirect band gap

k k

GaAs Si
AlxGa1-xAs x<0.3 AlAs
ZnSe Diamond
 Direct vs. indirect band gap

Direct bandgap materials:

Strong luminescence
Light emitters
Detectors

Direct bandgap materials:

Weak or no luminescence
Detectors
Fermi-Dirac distribution function

1
f (E) 
e ( E  EF ) / kT  1
E

0.5 1
EF f(E)
Fermi-Dirac distribution function

1
f (E)  ( E  E F ) / kT For electrons
e 1
1  f (E) For holes

0.5 1
kT EF f(E)

kT=25 meV at 300 K

 Fermi-Dirac distribution function

1
f (E)  ( E  E F ) / kT For electrons
e 1
1  f (E) For holes

f(E)
0.5 1
kT EF

kT=25 meV at 300 K

 E

Conduction band

Density of States
1 2mc
 (E)  ( 2 ) E
2 

Valence band
 E

Conduction band

1 2mc
 (E)  ( 2 ) E
2 

Valence band

For filling purpose, the smaller the

effective mass the better.
 Where is the Fermi Level ?
E
1 2mc
 (E)  ( 2 ) E
2 

Conduction band

n-doped

Intrinsic
Valence band
P-doped
 Interband carrier recombination time (lifetime)

~ nanoseconds in III-V compound (GaAs, InGaAsP)

~ microseconds in silicon

Speed, energy storage,

 Quasi-Fermi levels
E E E

Ef e

Immediately after Returning to

Absorbing photons thermal equilibrium

Ef h

1 2mc
 (E)  ( ) E
2  2
 E fe # of carriers

EF e

x =
EF h

1 2mc
 (E)  ( ) E
2  2
 E

Condition for net gain >0

EF c

Rabsorption   v f ( Ev )  c ( Ec )(1  f ( Ec )) Eg

Remission   v (1  f ( Ev ))  c ( Ec ) f ( Ec )
Rnet  Remission  Rabsorption EF v

Rnet  ( E Fc  E Fv )  E g
P-n junction
unbiased

EF
 P-n junction
Under forward bias

EF
 Heterojunction
Under forward bias
 Homojunction

hv

N p
 Heterojunction
waveguide

x
Heterojunction

10 – 100 nm

EF
 Heterojunction
A four-level system

10 – 100 nm

Phonons
 Absorption and gain in semiconductor
E

Conduction band

g  (E) 
1 2mc
(
2  2
) E

Valence band

Eg

 E  Eg


Absorption (loss)

Eg


Eg
Gain

Eg


Eg
 Gain at 0 K

Eg EFc-EFv
g

EFc-EFv Eg


Density of states
 Gain and loss at 0 K

EF=(EFc-EFv)
Eg
E=hv

 E  Eg
 Gain and loss at T=0 K
at different pumping rates
g

EF=(EFc-EFv)
Eg
E
N1 N2 >N1

 E  Eg

 Gain and loss at T>0 K

g laser

Eg N2 >N1
N1
E

 E  Eg
 Gain and loss at T>0 K
Effect of increasing temperature
g laser

Eg N2 >N1
N1
E

At a higher temperature

 E  Eg
 A diode laser

Larger bandgap (and lower index ) materials

<0.2m
p
n
<0.1 mm

Substrate

Cleaved facets
Smaller bandgap (and higher index ) materials
w/wo coating
<1 mm
 Wavelength of diode lasers

• Broad band width (>200 nm)

• Wavelength selection by grating
• Temperature tuning in a small range
Wavelength selection by grating tuning


 A distributed-feedback diode laser
with imbedded grating

<0.2m
p
n

Grating
Typical numbers for optical gain:

Gain coefficient at threshold: 20 cm-1

Carrier density: 10 18 cm-3
Electrical to optical conversion efficiency: >30%
Internal quantum efficiency >90%
Power of optical damage 106W/cm2

Modulation bandwidth
>10 GHz
 Semiconductor vs solid-state
Semiconductors:
• Fast: due to short excited state lifetime ( ns)
• Direct electrical pumping
• Broad bandwidth
• Lack of energy storage
• Low damage threshold

Solid-state lasers, such as rare-earth ion based:

• Need optical pumping
• Long storage time for high peak power
• High damage threshold
Strained layer and bandgap engineering

Substrate
 Density of states

3-D (bulk)  (E)  E


 Low dimensional semiconductors

When the dimension of potential well is comparable to the

deBroglie wavelength of electrons and holes.

Lz<10nm
 2- dimensional semiconductors: quantum well
Example: GaAs/AlGaAs, ZnSe/ZnMgSe

Al0.3Ga0.7As

GaAs

Al0.3Ga0.7As

E
 (E )  constant
For wells of infinite depth 2 2
En  n 2 n  1,2,....
2mc L2z

E2

E1

2- dimensional semiconductors: quantum well

E2c
 2 2
Enc  n2
n  1,2,....
2me L2z
E1c

E1v  2 2
E2v Env  n 2
n  1,2,....
2mh L2z
 2- dimensional semiconductors: quantum well

E2c

E1c

E2v E1v

(E)
 2- dimensional semiconductors: quantum well

T=0 K

E2c

E1c

E2v E1v
N0=0
N1>N0
 N2>N1
 2- dimensional semiconductors: quantum well

T=300K

E2c

E1c
E=hv

E2v E1v
N0=0
N1>N0
 N2>N1
 2- dimensional semiconductors: quantum well

Wavelength : Determined by the composition

and thickness of the well and the barrier heights

E2c

E1c
E=hv

E2v E1v
N0=0
N1>N0
 N2>N1
 3-D vs. 2-D

T=300K

2-D
3-D
E=hv

E2v


Multiple quantum well:
coupled or uncoupled
 1-D (Quantum wire)

1
 (E) 
E  Eg

Quantized
bandgap

Eg


 0-D (Quantum dot)
An artificial atom

 ( E )   ( E  Ei )

Ei


Quantum cascade lasers