Cooper-Pair Radiative Recombination in Semiconductor Heterostructures: Impact on Quantum Optics and Optoelectronics

The injection of Cooper pairs into a normal medium such as a semiconductor is known as the proximity effect at the superconductor/normal interface. We confirm this injection as well as the contribution of Cooper pairs to a drastic enhancement of inter-band optical transitions in semiconductor heterostructures. In this paper we investigate and clarify the relation of internal quantum efficiencies and radiative lifetimes in Cooper-pair light emitting diodes (CP-LEDs). A quantitative description of the dynamic photon generation processes is given, and the contribution of the Cooper-pair recombination relative to normal-electron recombination in CP-LEDs is discussed in detail.