Screening dynamics of intrinsic electric field in AlGaN quantum wells

Shift of the transition energy after pulsed optical excitation in Al0.35Ga0.65N/Al0.49Ga0.51N quantum well (QW) structures with varying well width has been studied by time-resolved photoluminescence. The shift dynamics, which is due to descreening of the intrinsic electric field, has characteristic times similar to carrier lifetimes revealing negligible influence of trapped carriers on screening. Comparison of the experimental spectral shifts with the calculations has shown that the intrinsic field in our AlGaN QWs is about 0.4-0.5 MV/cm, which is about a factor of two smaller than the value calculated using the theoretical polarization constants. (c) 2008 American Institute of Physics.