Photoluminescence studies of beryllium doped GaAs/AlGaAs quantum wells

A photoluminescence (PL) investigation of beryllium doped GaAs/AlGaAs multiple quantum wells is reported. MBE grown samples with well widths 30-75 Angstrom and barrier thicknesses 100-500 Angstrom are included. The effect of beryllium doping in the well region of sheet carrier density 3 x 10(11) to 4 x 10(12) cm(-2)on the position of the first conduction band-to-first heavy hole band (C1-HH1) free exciton line is investigated. The position of PL peak energies as a function of well width and doping is calculated using single particle energies from an envelope function approximation calculation and an estimate of many body effects, including a two-dimensional, screened exchange interaction. A very good agreement is found between the calculated and measured PL peak energies. O 2001 Published by Elsevier Science B.V.