Switching of photoluminescence by pulsed electric field in GaAs/Al0.7Ga0.3As single quantum well structure

Transient photoluminescence measurements for pulsed electric fields at liquid nitrogen temperature on a GaAs/AlGaAs single quantum well structure have been carried out to clarify the field-dependence of the recombination lifetime of carriers and to demonstrate a fast switching of the luminescence intensities. The lifetime increases with the increasing field in a marked contrast to the previously reported results. The transient characteristic for a short pulsed voltage is observed to be free from lifetime limitation. The results are semiquantitatively interpreted in terms of the field-induced reduction in the overlap between electron and hole wave functions inside the GaAs well, combined with biomolecular recombination model.