Effect of interface disorder on quantum well excitons and microcavity polaritons

摘要

The theory of the linear optical response of excitons in quantum wells andpolaritons in planar semiconductor microcavities is reviewed, in the light ofthe existing experiments. For quantum well excitons, it is shown that disordermainly affects the exciton center-of-mass motion and is modeled by an effectiveSchroedinger equation in two dimensions. For polaritons, a unified modelaccounting for quantum well roughness and fluctuations of the microcavitythickness is developed. Numerical results confirm that polaritons are mostlyaffected by disorder acting on the photon component, thus confirming existingstudies on the influence of exciton disorder. The polariton localization lengthis estimated to be in the few-micrometer range, depending on the amplitude ofdisorder, in agreement with recent experimental findings.