In recent years the field of semiconductor optics has been pushed to several extremes. The size of semiconductor structures has shrunk to dimensions of a few nanometers, the semiconductor-light interaction is studied on timescales as fast as a few femtoseconds, and transport properties on a length scale far below the wavelength of light have been revealed. These advances were driven by rapid improvements  in both  semiconductor and optical technologies and  were further facilitated by  progress in the theoretical description of optical excitations in semiconductors. This...

This monograph is concerned with the III-V bulk and low-dimensional semiconductors, with the emphasis on the implications of multi-valley bandstructures for the physical mechanisms essential for opto-electronic devices. The optical response of such semiconductor materials is determined by many-body effects such as screening, gap narrowing, Fermi-edge singularity, electron-hole plasma and liquid formation. Consequently, the discussion of these features reflects such interdependencies with the dynamics of excitons and carriers resulting from intervalley coupling.

This monograph is concerned with the III-V bulk and low-dimensional semiconductors, with the emphasis on the implications of multi-valley bandstructures for the physical mechanisms essential for opto-electronic devices. The optical response of such semiconductor materials is determined by many-body effects such as screening, gap narrowing, Fermi-edge singularity, electron-hole plasma and liquid formation. Consequently, the discussion of these features reflects such interdependencies with the dynamics of excitons and carriers resulting from intervalley coupling.

This book provides an introduction to and an overview of the multifaceted area of dynamics and nonlinearities related to optical excitations in semiconductors. It is a revised and significantly extended edition of the well-established book by C. Klingshirn split into two volumes and restructured to make it more concise. Inserts on important experimental techniques, reference to topical research and novel materials, as well as consideration of photonic applications support research-oriented teaching and learning.