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Photoelectric emission from a finite barrier quantum well formed in a GaAs film sandwiched between (Al,Ga)As layers
Author(s) -
Kar A.,
Sinha M.,
Bose C.
Publication year - 2007
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/pssb.200642137
Subject(s) - photoelectric effect , quantum well , current density , electron , condensed matter physics , rectangular potential barrier , semiconductor , current (fluid) , effective mass (spring–mass system) , conduction band , materials science , optoelectronics , photon energy , photon , physics , optics , quantum mechanics , thermodynamics , laser
In this communication an attempt is made to estimate the photoelectric current density from a finite barrier quantum well (QW) formed in an ultrathin film of semiconductor. The variation of electron effective mass in various energy levels of the conduction band has been considered in the present estimation. For computational purposes, the QW with rectangular potential of finite barrier has been modeled by a thin film of GaAs sandwiched between barrier layers of (Al,Ga)As, and the well depth has been varied by varying the Al concentration. Results have been compared with standard established results for photoelectric emission from ultrathin films of GaAs, where the rectangular QW was assumed to be infinitely deep. The quantized nature of the photoelectric current density provides a description of energy level structures in QWs of varying widths and depths – both finite and infinite. The results indicate that to make an electron participate in the emission process, higher incident photon energy is required in case of a finite QW with respect to that of an infinite QW. An enhanced photoelectric current density is also obtained in the former case. (© 2007 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)