This volume contains the Proceedings of the NATO Advanced Research Workshop on "Optical Properties of Narrow-Gap Low-Dimensional Structures", held from July 29th to August 1st, 1986, in St. Andrews, Scotland, under the auspices of the NATO International Scientific Exchange Program. The workshop was not limited to optical properties of narrow-gap semiconductor structures (Part III). Sessions on, for example, the growth methods and characterization of III-V, II-VI, and IV-VI materials, discussed in Part II, were an integral part of the workshop. Considering the small masses of the carriers in narrow-gap low dimensional structures (LOS), in Part I the enhanced band mixing and magnetic field effects are explored in the context of the envelope function approximation. Optical nonlinearities and energy relaxation phenomena applied to the well-known systems of HgCdTe and GaAs/GaAIAs, respectively, are reviewed with comments on their extension to narrow gap LOS. The relevance of optical observations in quantum transport studies is illustrated in Part IV. A review of devices based on epitaxial narrow-gap materials defines a frame of reference for future ones based on two-dimensional narrow-gap semiconductors; in addition, an analysis of the physics of quantum well lasers provides a guide to relevant parameters for narrow-gap laser devices for the infrared (Part V). The roles and potentials of special techniques are explored in Part VI, with emphasis on hydrostatic pressure techniques, since this has a pronounced effect in small-mass, narrow-gap, non-parabolic structures.

Inhalt

I. Theory.- Electronic Energy Levels in Narrow-Gap Low-Dimensional Structures.- Magnetic Field Effects on the Electronic States of Narrow-Gap Low-Dimensional Structures.- II. Growth and Characterization.- Growth and Properties of Hg-Based Superlattices.- MOCVD-Growth, Characterization and Application of III-V Semiconductor Strained Heterostructures.- Crystal Qualities and Optical Properties of MBE Grown GaSb/AlGaSb Superlattices and Multi-Quantum-Wells.- The MBE Growth of InSb-Based Heterojunctions and LDS (Abs.).- III. Optical Properties and Energy Relaxation.- Optical Properties of HgTe-CdTe Superlattices.- Optical Properties of InAs-GaSb and GaSb-AlSb Superlattices.- Strained Layer Superlattices of GaInAs-GaAs.- Properties of PbTe/Pb1-x SnxTe Superlattices.- Quantum Wells and Superlattices of Diluted Magnetic Semiconductors.- Optical Nonlinearities in Narrow-Gap Semiconductors.- Optical Nonlinearities in Low-Dimensional Structures (Abs.).- Energy Relaxation Phenomena in GaAs/GaAlAs Structures.- The Rate of Capture of Electrons into the Wells of a Superlattice.- IV. Optical Efeects in Quantum Transport.- Subband Physics for Hg0.8Cd0.2Te in the Electric Quantum Limit.- The Far Infra-Red Magnetotransmission of Accumulation Layers on n-(Hg,Cd)Te.- Cyclotron Resonance of Inversion Electrons on InSb.- Optical, Magneto-Optical and Transport Investigations of the Narrow Gap System InAsxSb1-x.- V. Physics of Devices.- Narrow Bandgap Semiconductor Devices.- The Physics of the Quantum Well Laser.- VI. Special Techniques.- Raman Scattering at Interfaces.- Sources and Detectors for Picosecond/Femtosecond Spectroscopy (Abs.).- High Pressure Techniques for Research in Semiconductors: A Review.- High Pressure Transport Experiments in 3 Dimensional Systems.- High Pressure Transport Experiments in 2D Systems.- Optical Properties of InAs-GaSb Superlattices under Hydrostatic Pressure.- Magnetotransport Measurements under Hydrostatic Pressure in Two-Dimensional Electron and Electron-Hole Systems.- Participants.- Author Index.