One-dimensional diffusion of excitons in GaAs quantum wires was observ
ed by using microphotoluminescence measurements at low temperature. Th
e observed diffusion length increased with decreasing wire width from
30 to 15 nm, and decreased from 15 to 7 nm, where maximum diffusion le
ngth was about 4 mu m for the 15 nm quantum wire, which is the largest
value so far reported. It is considered that the change of diffusion
length versus wire width is caused by the competition between one-dime
nsional character and the interface fluctuation. (C) 1995 American Ins
titute of Physics.