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Population Inversion of Landau Levels in the Valence Band of Silicon in Crossed Electric and Magnetic Fields
Author(s) -
Muravjov A. V.,
Strijbos R. C.,
Wenckebach W. Th.,
Shastin V. N.
Publication year - 1998
Publication title -
physica status solidi (b)
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.51
H-Index - 109
eISSN - 1521-3951
pISSN - 0370-1972
DOI - 10.1002/(sici)1521-3951(199802)205:2<575::aid-pssb575>3.0.co;2-a
Subject(s) - landau quantization , condensed matter physics , population inversion , physics , phonon , effective mass (spring–mass system) , magnetic field , cyclotron resonance , valence (chemistry) , degenerate energy levels , silicon , valence band , population , atomic physics , cyclotron , band gap , quantum mechanics , optoelectronics , sociology , laser , demography
The Landau level structure of the degenerate valence band of silicon in crossed electric and magnetic fields ( B = 5 T, E = 0 to 5 kVcm —1 ) has been calculated using the complete effective mass Hamiltonian for the three valence subbands. The calculations reveal a population inversion between light hole Landau levels at cryogenic temperatures due to a strongly level‐dependent scattering on optical phonons, which is caused by quantum mechanical mixing of light and heavy hole states in crossed E and B fields. The possibility of amplification of far‐infrared radiation on light hole cyclotron resonance transitions is discussed.