Photoluminescence: A Tool for Investigating Optical, Electronic, and Structural Properties of Semiconductors

Theoretical basis and typical experimental setups of photoluminescence, PL, are briefly described. The investigation by PL of some of the fundamental properties of compound semiconductors and alloys--e.g., optical gap, type and density of shallow impurities, effects of structural disorder in alloys and at heterostructure interfaces, and carrier effective masses--is illustrated. The effects on PL spectra of magnetic fields are discussed, together with the validity limits of perturbation and numerical models for different ratios of magnetic and excitonic energies.