Photoluminescence of GaAs quantum wells grown by molecular beam epitaxy with growth interruptions

Single GaAs/AlxGa1−xAs quantum wells, grown by molecular beam epitaxy with growth interruptions at each interface, are investigated using low-temperature photoluminescence. The three clearly resolved photoluminescence peaks are attributed to discrete monolayer thicknesses of the well. The splitting of the peaks is investigated for several hundred points across a 2 in. wafer. The negligible variation of the peak splitting is consistent with abrupt interfaces in the growth direction, atomically smooth interfaces, and discrete thicknesses of the quantum well with changes of only integer multiples of monolayers.