Temperature dependence of the linewidths of free-exciton A and B transitions was investigated. Experimental linewidths were fitted to a theoretical model considering various interactions of excitons with phonons in addition to inhomogeneous broadening. It was shown that acoustic phonon scattering must also be considered to explain the emission linewidth broadening, in contrast to a recent report on luminescence linewidths in GaN. These exciton-acoustic-phonon interactions also explain the fast energy relaxation of free excitons to the bottom of the exciton band, which leads to generally observed short free-exciton lifetimes in GaN. The exciton-longitudinal-optical ͑LO͒ -phonon coupling constant was found to be extremely large. This was explained as being due to the Fröhlich interaction and the polar nature of GaN. The binding energy of both A and B excitons was found to be 26 meV. The relevance of exciton-phonon interactions and the binding energy of free excitons in achieving room-temperature exciton-based semiconductor lasers was discussed. Though exciton-LO-phonon interaction was very strong in GaN, it was still possible to observe room-temperature excitons since the exciton binding energy is very large.

Monolayer transition-metal dichalcogenides (1L-TMDs) are atomically thin direct band gap semiconductors, from which the emission of light is determined by optical transitions of exciton complexes such as neutral excitons and trions. While the quantum yields of 1L-TMDs are quite low, the ability to control the populations of exciton complexes in 1L-TMDs through various doping processes is an interesting advantage, and provides ample possibilities for engineering the optical properties of these semiconductor monolayers. Here we demonstrate a simple method of controlling the populations of excitons and trions to enhance the light emission of 1L-TMDs by having them form heterostructures with ZnO thin films (TFs). 1Ls of MoS or MoSe showed up to 17-fold increases in photoluminescence (PL) when they were placed on ∼50 nm thick ZnO TFs. This enhancement of the PL was due to charge exchanges occurring through the 1L-TMD/ZnO interface. The PL enhancements and changes in the PL spectra of the 1L-TMDs were greater when the 1L-TMD/ZnO heterostructures were subjected to 355 nm wavelength laser excitation than when they were excited with a 514 nm wavelength laser, which we attributed to the onset of energy transfer by photoexcited excitons and/or the additional p-doping by photoexcited holes in ZnO. The p-doping phenomenon and the enhanced light emission of 1L-TMD/ZnO heterostructures were unambiguously visualized in spatially resolved PL and Raman spectral maps. Our approach using the 1L-TMD/ZnO TF heterostructure suggests that a rich variety of options for engineering the optical properties of 1L-TMDs may be made available by carrying out simple and intuitive manipulations of exciton complexes, and these endeavors may yield practical applications for 1L-TMDs in nanophotonic devices.

The detailed cross-sectional structure of InGaAs quantum dots fabricated by a heterogeneous droplet epitaxy method was investigated by means of cross-sectional transmission electron microscopy observation. It was confirmed that concave disks without any dislocations or wetting layer were formed at the upper part of the flat surface. This result was consistent with the change of photoluminescence intensity and peak position. The sizes of the disks were estimated to be 30 and 12 nm in lateral and vertical directions, respectively. From this estimation, the occurrence of a phase-separation effect is suggested.

Aluminium (Al)-doped zinc oxide (AZO) thin films with different Al concentrations were prepared by the solgel spin-coating method. Optical parameters such as the optical band gap, absorption coefficient, refractive index, dispersion parameter, and optical conductivity were studied in order to investigate the effects of the Al concentration on the optical properties of AZO thin films. The dispersion energy, single-oscillator energy, average oscillator wavelength, average oscillator strength, and refractive index at infinite wavelength of the AZO thin films were found to be affected by Al incorporation. The optical conductivity of the AZO thin films also increases with increasing photon energy.

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