Carrier relaxation in intermixed GaAs/AlxGa1-xAs quantum wires.

Time-resolved investigations on the photoluminescence of GaAs/Al x Ga 1-x As quantum wires as a function of the wire width and the potential well depth indicate a reduction of the energy relaxation in quasi-one-dimensional (1D) systems. The systematic change of the wire width and potential well depth of the quantum wires with mask widths down to 40 nm were realized by ion-implantation-induced intermixing of quantum wells. Lifetime measurements on the high-energy side of the quantum wire emission yield increased decay times for the smallest wires