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Sub-nanosecond free carrier recombination in an indirectly excited quantum-well heterostructure

Nanometer-thick quantum-well structures are quantum model systems offering a few discrete unoccupied energy states that can be impulsively filled and that relax back to equilibrium predominantly via spontaneous emission of light. Here we report on the response of an indirectly excited quantum-well heterostructure, probed by means of time and frequency resolved photoluminescence spectroscopy. This experiment provides access to the sub-nanosecond evolution of the free electron density, indirectly injected in the quantum-wells. In particular, the modelling of the time-dependent photoluminescence spectra unveils the time evolution of the temperature and of the chemical potentials for electrons and holes, from which the sub-nanosecond time-dependent electron density is determined. This information allows to prove that the recombination of excited carriers is mainly radiative and bimolecular at early delays after excitation, while, as the carrier density decreases, a monomolecular and non-radiative recombination channel becomes relevant. Access to the sub-nanosecond chronology of the mechanisms responsible for the relaxation of charge carriers provides a wealth of information for designing novel luminescent devices with engineered spectral and temporal behavior.