Femtosecond Spectral Interferometry of Resonant Secondary Emission from Quantum Wells: Resonance Rayleigh Scattering in the Nonergodic Regime

Abstract

We report the first investigation of resonant secondary emission from quantum well excitons using ultrafast spectral interferometry. Observation of high-contrast spectral fringes demonstrates a significant phase correlation of the spectral components of the Rayleigh scattered light and allows us to determine the temporal dynamics of the coherent emission. The results contradict the present theories for resonant Rayleigh scattering based on ensemble averaging, and show the nonergodic nature of resonance Rayleigh scattering from semiconductor quantum wells.