Excitons in Semiconductors

This book explores fundamental and experimental aspects of excitons in semiconductors. It begins with an introduction to crystal lattice, band structure of solids, effective mass theory, and holes. It then explores the binding energy of various excitons and their complexes (such as trions and biexcitons) in different dimensions within the framework of effective mass approximation, discusses the absorption and emission of photons during their creation and recombination processes providing experimental examples in photo-absorption and photoluminescence (PL) spectroscopy. Theoretical foundations for calculating the dielectric function associated with excitons along with the concept of 'exciton-polaritons' are introduced. The book also examines the interaction between excitons and phonons, which is illustrated with experimental findings. Further, it discusses the effects of magnetic field on the energy eigenstates of excitons, and talks about polarization-resolved spectroscopy under magnetic field for identifying excitons and obtaining deeper insight of the excitonic structure as well as the semiconductor band structure. Lastly, it delves into the manybody effects i.e. Bose-Einstein condensation of excitons and excitonic Mott transition, presenting recent experimental findings and potential applications.