Power broadening and nonlinear FIR magneto-photoconductivity in n-GaAs

The saturation of the photoconductivity due to 1s-2p₊ shallow donor transitions in n-GaAs has been investigated using a high power cw-FIR-laser. Magnetic field strengths were chosen in such a way that 2p₊ energy levels were either below or above the N=0 conduction band Landau level. In the former case 1s-p₊ transitions are found to be inhomogeneously broadened with a saturation intensity as low as 0.84 mW/cm², giving an effective lifetime of the 2p₊ state of 1.5 µs. Above the band edge the integrated photoconductivity does not saturate though the intensity-normalized peak photosignal decreases and the linewidth increases with raising intensity. This strange behaviour is tentatively attributed to optical excitations of 2p₊ electrons to higher lying electron Landau states. © 1983 Plenum Publishing Corporation.