Phonon-mediated carrier capture in quantum well lasers

From the Boltzmann equation governing the electron–phonon interaction in a semiconductor, we derive an expression for the phonon-mediated carrier capture time in electrically pumped quantum well lasers. The result is used to study the influence of temperature, carrier density, and the width d of the quantum well on the carrier capture time. Contrary to the common belief that the capture time oscillates strongly with d, we find that such oscillations are heavily damped for typical structure parameters and could therefore be very difficult to resolve experimentally.