Accessing structural and electronic properties of semiconductor nanostructures via photoluminescence

Photoluminescence (PL) is one of the most widely diffused experimental techniques for the characterization of semiconductor nanostructures (in particular quantum wells (QWs)) and for the study of their electronic properties. PL allows to study a number of interesting intrinsic effects in QWs, like the exciton binding energy increase due to carrier localization, the homogeneous broadening of the exciton recombination line, the carrier-carrier interaction, and so on. In addition, the analysis of the radiative recombination spectra of nanostructures can help in the characterization of the structure, providing information on the interface morphology and on the quality of the materials. In this chapter the information that can be gained from PL spectra is critically summarized with the aim of providing a reference scheme for the characterization of nanostructures through PL measurements. The discussion in the chapter is supported by a wide and detailed bibliography, in which basic textbooks, review articles, and research papers are included in order to provide the reader with up-to-date information on the application of PL to the study of optical and structural properties of semiconductor QWs. © 2008 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.