Enhanced binding energy of one-dimensional excitons in quantum wires

Photoluminescence spectra are systematically studied on a series of 5 nm scale, T-shaped, GaAs quantum wires (QWRs). Potential profiles and quantized energies of QWRs are precisely determined as a function of structure parameters. By comparing the experimental quantized energy with the calculation without the Coulomb interaction, the binding energy E(b) of one-dimensional (1D) excitons is quantitatively evaluated. Upon increasing the 1D confinement, E(b) in QWRs is found to be enhanced to 27 +/- 3 meV, which is 6-7 times larger than the bulk value.