Radiative recombination on the interface in a p-GaInAsSb/p-InAs type-II (broken-gap) heterostructure upon pulsed excitation.

The electroluminescence appearing upon pulsed excitation in a solitary p-GaInAsSb/p-InAs typeII (broken-gap) heterostructure is investigated at T = 77 K. It is shown that just as in the case of excitation by a constant current, two emission bands with maxima corresponding to 384 and 311 meV, respectively, are observed in the spectra. The half-widths of the emission bands equal 18-19 meV. Time-resolved spectroscopy is used to evaluate the relaxation time of the nonequilibrium carriers, which amounts to 6-7 µs. The emission spectrum is calculated on the basis of the Kane model, and the radiative recombination time is estimated. The theoretical estimates are in reasonable agreement with experiment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]