Theoretical investigation of carrier relaxation processes in quantum wells and their effect on radiative and Auger recombination

In this paper we study the effect of carrier relaxation processes on Auger and radiative recombination in semiconductor quantum wells (QWs). Electron (hole)-electron (hole) and electron-phonon relaxation mechanisms are studied in detail. General expressions for the rates of the two recombination processes with account of the complex valence band structure are derived. It is shown that the relaxation doesn't play an important role for Auger transition in narrow quantum wells, while it is necessary to take it into account in wide quantum wells, where the free path length of the carriers is less than the QW width.