EFFICIENT ELECTRONIC-ENERGY TRANSFER FROM A SEMICONDUCTOR QUANTUM-WELL TO AN ORGANIC MATERIAL

We predict an efficient electronic energy transfer from the two-dimens ional Wannier-Mott excitons confined in a semiconductor quantum well t o the optically active organic molecules of the nearby medium (substra te and/or overlayer), The energy transfer mechanism is of the Forster type and, at semiconductor-organic distances of several nanometers, ca n easily be as fast as 100 ps, which is about an order of magnitude sh orter than the average exciton lifetime in an isolated quantum well. U nder such conditions, the Wannier-Mott exciton luminescence is quenche d and the organic luminescence is efficiently turned on. Our calculati ons, combining a microscopic quantum mechanical exciton model with a m acroscopic electrodynamic description of the organic medium, take into account the dielectric constant discontinuities and can be applied to any organic-inorganic multilayer structure. (C) 1997 American Institu te of Physics.