Feature
Optical Dephasing and Acoustic Plasmon Undamping in Highly Excited Semiconductors
Optical dephasing, i.e., the decay of the polarization field in a semiconductor, is a direct consequence of electron and hole scattering. Under high excitation conditions or in a semiconductor amplifier/laser, carrier-carrier scattering is often the dominant relaxation mechanism, which also leads to energy-level broadening and dynamical screening of the Coulomb interaction potential. The theoretical analysis of carrier-carrier scattering is based on the quantum Boltzmann equation. Even though this equation is well known in the many-body literature, its solution for high excitation conditions and nonequilibrium carrier distributions is a substantial challenge.
Log in or become a member to view the full text of this article.
This article may be available for purchase via the search at Optica Publishing Group.
Optica Members get the full text of Optics & Photonics News, plus a variety of other member benefits.