Bound polaron in GaAs-GaAlAs quantum-well structures

Abstract

The effects of the electron-phonon interaction on the ground bound state of an isolated hydrogenic impurity in a GaAs-GaAlAs quantum well containing free carriers are calculated as a function of the electron density for different values of the well thickness. The screening effects of the impurity potential and the electron-phonon interaction are described within the random-phase approximation. It was found that the polaronic contribution to the impurity binding energy is quite significant. In the case of thin quantum wells this correction ranges from about 5% at high electronic densities to 10% at low electron concentrations.