Conditions and possible mechanism of condensation of e–h pairs in bulk GaAs at room temperature

A mechanism of the condensation of e–h pairs in bulk GaAs at room temperature, which has been observed earlier, is proposed. The point is that the photon assisted pairing happens in a system of electrons and holes that occupy energy levels at the very bottoms of the bands. Due to a very high e–h density, the destruction of the pairs and loss of coherence does not occur because almost all energy levels inside a 30–60 meV band from the bottom of the conduction band prove to be occupied. As a result, a coherent ensemble of composite bosons (paired electrons and holes) with the minimum possible energy appears. The lifetime of this strongly non‐equilibrium coherent e–h BCS‐like state is as short as a few hundred of femtoseconds. (© 2004 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)