Effect of phonon scattering on free-carrier absorption in quantum well structures

Abstract

The free-carrier absorption has been studied for quantum well structures fabricated from III-V semiconductors such as it-type InSb films when the acoustic phonon scattering is dominant. The energy band of carriers in semiconductors is assumed to be nonparabolic. The scattering mechanisms of phonons with carriers in semiconductors are considered for the deformation-potential coupling and the piezoelectric coupling separately. Results show that the free-carrier absorption coefficient in n-type InSb films depend upon the polarization of the radiation field relative to the direction normal to the quantum well structures, the photon frequency, the film thickness and the temperature. It is also found that the free-carrier absorption coefficient could be complex due to the interaction of the radiation field and the photon field with carriers in semiconductors. Thus, the index of refraction of semiconducting films could be changed due to this carrier-phonon-photon interaction.