Derivation of Optical Absorption

Coefficient in Direct Semiconductors

 Outline of derivation
•Absorption Coefficient:  (  )
I ( , z )  Io ( , z )e  (  ) z

•Applications: lasers, solar cells, etc.

•Time-dependent perturbation
•Fermi’s Golden rule
•Direct-gap net absorption rate
•Absorption Coefficient & Simplifications
 Fermi’s Golden Rule

2 ' 2
Wi f  Hfi ( (Ef  Ei   )   (Ef  Ei   ))


Ef Ei
 

Ei Ef

Absorption Emission
 Direct-Gap Net Absorption Rate
Ec E
2 2π
Rvc   H 'cv δ(Εc  Εv   )fv 1  fc 
2

V kv kc 

Assumptions:
k kv = kc = k
Undoped, low excitation
Ev
fv = 1, fc = 0
2k 2
Ev   2 2π
  H 'cv δ(Εc  Εv   )
2
2mh* Rabs
V k 
2k 2
Ec  E g 
2me*
 Absorption Coefficient
Rabs (no. of photons absorbed per second per unit volume)
 ( ) 
P /  (no. of injected photons per second per unit area)

 2 2π
 H 'cv δ(Εc  Εv   )
2

( nr c o Ao / 2) V k 
2 2


•How to find H’cv? H 'cv   ψ H' ( r )ψ v d r
*
c
3

2

H (r , t ) 
1
2mo
  
pˆ  eA  V (r )

 eAo
H ' (r )   eˆ  pˆ
2mo Momentum matrix element

πe 2 2  2
 (  )  
nr c o mo  V k
2
eˆ  pcv δ(Εc  Εv   )
 More Practical Form
πe 2  2 V 2k 2
k V 2 3 g 2m  
2
 (  ) n c m 2 
3
 e
ˆ  p δ(E    )  k
 
cv
r o o r


πe 2  2 2k 2
  2 3 g 2mr
2
 e  pcv
ˆ δ(E    )d 3
k
nr c o mo 
2

•Using E-k (dispersion) relationship:

 3/2
πe 2  1  2mr 
 2 2  2   k 
2
 (  )  δ(Eg   k   )d  k
1/ 2
e  pcv
ˆ
nr c o mo 
2

3/2
1  2mr 
N J ( k )  k
2 2   2 
πe 2  2 mo E g  1 
 (  )  eˆ  pcv NJ (   Eg ) p 
2

  1
nr c o mo 
cv
2
2  me 
 Conclusions
Absorption Coefficient at 5K
•Example: InSb
•Eg = 0.17eV
•Different for 2D,1D,0D
•Density of States

•Not 100% accurate

•Parabolic band
approximation
•nr depends on
Yu, Cardona: p. 260 wavelength
Red: calculation at 300K •Exciton absorption
below bandgap
 Optical properties
Absorption & Gain in Semiconductors:
3D Semiconductors: qualitative picture
Einstein coefficients
Low Dimensional Materials:
Quantum wells, wires & dots

Intersubband absorption

Chuang Ch. 9
 Applications
Light Emitters, (including lasers & LEDs)
Detectors, Sensors, Amplifiers,
Waveguides & Switches,
Absorbers & Filters
Nonlinear Optics
Qualitative picture of absorption and
gain in semiconductors
Absorption and gain in semiconductors
E

Conduction band

g  ( E) 
1 2mc
(
2  2
) E

Valence band

Eg

 E  Eg


Absorption (usually loss)

Eg


Eg
Gain

Eg


Eg
 Where is the Fermi Level ?
E
1 2mc
 (E)  ( 2 ) E
2 

Conduction band
n-doped

Intrinsic

Valence band
P-doped
 Quasi-Fermi levels
E fe # of carriers

EF
e

x =

EF
h

1 2mc
 (E)  ( ) E
2  2
 Quasi-Fermi levels: example for optical pumping
E E E

Ef e

Immediately after Returning to

Absorbing photons thermal equilibrium

Ef h

1 2mc
 (E)  ( ) E
2  2
 Qualitative analysis E

Condition for net gain >0

Rabsorption   v f ( Ev )  c (1  f ( Ec ))
EF c
Remission   v (1  f ( Ev ))  c f ( Ec )
Rnet  Remission  Rabsorption
Eg
Rnet  0  EFc  EFv  E g

EF v
 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

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
Achieving gain
Optics reminder
Spontaneous and stimulated emission:
Einstein A and B coefficients 2

1
Spontaneous emission rate = A N2

Absorption rate = B12 N1 I

Stimulated emission rate = B21 N2 I

In equilibrium, the rate of upward transitions equals the rate of

downward transitions:

B12 = B21  B
Spontaneous and stimulated emission
in semiconductors
Reminder from earlier today:
The total transition rate per unit volume

Bose-Einstein distribution for photons

= av. no of photons at that energy

No. of states with

no. of photons/energy interval/unit volume energy E21
per unit volume,
per energy interval
Chuang Ch. 9
 Einstein coefficients for semiconductors

Stimulated emission rate

photon density of states

no. of photons/energy interval/unit volume

Spontaneous emission rate

At equilibrium:
 Einstein coefficients for semiconductors

General results
 Derivation of optical gain and spontaneous
emission spectrum
Net absorption per unit volume with spectral width dE
 Derivation of optical gain and spontaneous
emission spectrum
Spontaneous emission spectrum
 Derivation of optical gain and spontaneous
emission spectrum
Net stimulated emission rate

When  becomes negative, we have gain in the medium

Measurement of absorption and gain
Interband absorption and gain in low
dimensional semiconductors
Low dimensional semiconductors: quantum well (2D)
Example: GaAs/AlGaAs, ZnSe/ZnMgSe
Al0.3Ga0.7As

GaAs

Al0.3Ga0.7As

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

E2

E1

Interband absorption and gain in a
quantum well
 2- dimensional semiconductors: quantum well

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

E2c

E1c

E2v E1v

 2 2
Env  n2
n  1,2,....
2mh L2z (E)
 Interband absorption and gain in a 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
 3-D vs. 2-D

T=300K

2-D
3-D
E=hv

E2v


Interband absorption and gain in a
quantum well
Comparison of theoretical
gain spectrum in QWs
with experiments
 0-D (Quantum dot): An artificial atom

Areal density:

 ( E )   ( E  Ei )

Ei


0-D (Quantum dot)

Lorentzian lineshape
Interband absorption and gain in quantum dots
 1-D (Quantum wire)

1
 (E) 
E  Eg

Quantized
bandgap

Eg


Interband absorption and gain in a
quantum wire
Intersubband absorption
 Intersubband absorption
Optical dipole moment:

non-zero absorption only for the z-polarized (TM) light

Absorption:
Example of intersubband
absorption