Giant increase of the exciton lifetime in semimagnetic semiconductors with double quantum wells in magnetic field

Abstract

Magnetic field dependence of the excitonic spectrum and the intensity of the optical transitions for excitons in the double quantum well heterostructures based on semimagnetic semiconductors of various compositions are studied. The calculations carried out for (Zn, Mn)Se-based double quantum well structures showed that in the weak magnetic fields, the lowest energy states are the single-well states (direct excitons) for which both the electron and the hole are predominantly localized in the same well. At some values of magnetic field, the crossing of the direct exciton with indirect exciton formed by an electron and a hole, situated predominantly in the different wells, occurs. In the magnetic field exceeding some critical value, the lowest energy level belongs to the indirect exciton. According to the estimates, the lifetime of the indirect exciton is by several orders of magnitude larger than that of a single-well exciton. The exciton lifetime depends significantly on the width and the material of the barrier between the wells.