Study of condensed matter by optical techniques; inelastic light scattering spectroscopy; structure, optical properties and applications of liquid crystals; liquid crystal electro-optics; membrane biophysics; structure and dynamics of colloidal suspensions; nanometer scale fabrication; liquid structure and melting; soft matter chirality; liquid crystals of bent-core molecules; liquid crystals of DNA and RNA; liquid crystals and the origin of life; ferromagnetic liquid crystals.

We describe the molecular-beam epitaxy growth, as well as both the structural and optical characterization of a set of InAs/GaSb type-II strained-layer superlattice samples, in which the GaSb layer thickness is systematically increased. Absorbance spectroscopy measurements show well-defined features associated with transitions from the various valence subbands to the lowest conduction subband, and also a significant blueshift of the band edge when the GaSb layers thickness is increased. Empirical pseudopotential method calculations are shown to successfully predict the blueshift and help identify the higher-energy transitions.

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We describe the photoluminescence spectroscopy (PL) and Fourier transform infrared absorbance spectroscopy characterization of a large set of InAs/GaSb type-II strained layer superlattice (SLS) samples. The samples are designed to probe the effect of GaSb layer thickness on the optical properties of the SLS, while the InAs-layer thickness is held fixed. As the GaSb layer thickness is increased, we observe a spectral blue shift of the PL peaks that is accompanied by an increase in intensity, narrower linewidths, and a large reduction in the temperature sensitivity of the luminescence. These effects occur despite a significant reduction in the electron-hole wave function overlap as the GaSb layer thickness is increased. In addition, we compare the results of empirical pseudopotential model (EPM) calculations to the observed blueshift of the primary band gap. The EPM calculations are found to be in very good agreement with the observed data.

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