The PI will use reflectivity and magneto-reflectivity spectroscopies for the study of GaAs/AlAs quantum wells, grown at the U.S. Army Electronic Devices and Technology Laboratory (EDTL), in collaboration with Dr. Mitra Dutta. A graduate student will participate in the sample growth process, at EDTL, as well as in some of the characterization experiments there. The objective of the proposed work is to determine a number of parameters of GaAs/AlAs quantum wells. Specifically we intend to measure: (a) the effect of confinement and strain on the band structure, (b) the electron effective mass inside the wells, and (c) exciton binding energies. These parameters are crucial for the design and modeling of electronic devices that incorporate these heterostructures. Since no magneto- optical set-up is available at EDTL, we hope that this joint project will help the crystal growth and characterization effort there.
