ENHANCED RADIATIVE DECAY IN DISORDERED GAAS AL0.3GA0.7AS SUPERLATTICES/

Characteristics of the photoluminescence (PL) from disordered and orde red GaAs/Al0.3Ga0.7As superlattices are compared. The disordered super lattices (DSL) are nonperiodic and the ordered superlattices are perio dic. The PL emission is much stronger in the DSLs by a factor that dep ends on the PL excitation wavelength and excitation power. These obser vations are interpreted in terms of an enhanced radiative decay rate i n the DSLs brought about by the breakdown of translational symmetry in these systems. (C) 1995 American Institute of Physics.