This project involves studies by ultrafast laser techniques of highly optically excited semiconductor microstructures, based on very recent advances in the fabrication of new II-VI compound superlattices and quantum wells. These microstructures have their optical resonances in the visible region of the spectrum, especially in the blue-green where semiconductor optoelectronics technology is presently very poorly developed. The work is expected to have direct impact in developing high speed optical switching and light emitting devices, based on miroscopic understanding of the physics of highly excited nonequilibrium electron-hole plasmas and excitonic complexes. A particular feature of the microstructures to be studied is the incorporation of magnetic elements in a highly spatially controllable fashion. This will be investigated from the standpoint of fast optically induced changes in magnetic ordering of the microstructures, with a view towards exploiting such phenomena in magneto-optical devices.
