Electron capture in GaAs quantum wells

Abstract

The capture time for an electron in a graded index separate confinement heterostructure is calculated as a function of quantum-well width. The electron’s interactions with the other electrons in the well along with the phonons are included in the random-phase approximation using full multiple-subband and frequency-dependent screening. It is shown that at sufficiently high electron densities, there is a significant increase of the capture rate with electron density except for quantum-well widths near a phonon resonance.