Influence of external electric and magnetic fields on the excitonic absorption spectra of quantum-well wires

Single nanowire extinction spectroscopy

Here we show the first direct extinction spectra of single one-dimensional (1D) semiconductor nanostructures obtained at room temperature utilizing a spatial modulation approach. (1) For these materials, ensemble averaging in conventional extinction spectroscopy has limited our understanding of the interplay between carrier confinement and their electrostatic interactions. (2-4) By probing individual CdSe nanowires (NWs), we have identified and assigned size-dependent exciton transitions occurring across the visible. In turn, we have revealed the existence of room temperature 1D excitons in the narrowest NWs.

High-field franz-keldysh effect and exciton ionization in semiconductor quantum wires

We investigate the Franz-Keldysh effect and exciton ionization in semiconductor quantum wires. Absorption spectra are calculated near the band gap by solution of the low-density semiconductor Bloch equations in real space. The Sommerfeld factor and field-induced tunnel ionization of the exciton significantly affect the continuum portion of the absorption spectrum and remove the well known divergence problem associated with the 1D density of states at all field strengths. For reasonable electric field strengths substantial and tunable absorption oscillations appear above the band gap. Moreover, for very large fields, transparency can be achieved in the continuum for certain spectral positions.