Neste trabalho, apresentamos estudos sobre o transporte eletrônico de cargas e diagramas de fase no plano ns-B em bicamadas eletrônicas ou poços quânticos duplos, formados de ligas semiconductoras de AlxGa1-xAs e GaAs, assim como também em poços quânticos triplos de GaAs. Para esta finalidade, amostras de poços duplos com diferentes concentrações de Al (x) dentro de cada poço e triplos de GaAs foram crescidas. Inicialmente, se apresenta um estudo teórico, o qual mostrou que, em poços quânticos duplos em que em cada poço a concetração de Al é diferente, a aplicação de tensões de porta permite a modulação do fator g de Landé dos elétrons confinados nesses poços. Em especial, estudou-se o caso de concentrações de Al que correspondem a valores do fator g com sinal oposto, em cada poço. Posteriormente se faz um estudo teórico da estrutura eletrônica das amostras de poços duplos e triplos, em seguida apresenta-se os fundamentos teóricos que serão de base para a interpretação de nosso resultados experimentais. Na primeira parte de nosso trabalho, medidas de magnetotransporte (Shubnikov-de Haas (SdH) e Hall), foram realizadas em todas as amostras de estudo. Na amostra de poço duplo 3242, com fator g de Landé de sinais opostos foi encontrado o colapso do gap de spin nas oscilações SdH com o incremento do campo magnético, ou seja, a soma da energia de Zeeman mais a energia de troca e correlação é igual ao potencial de desordem. Este colapso é atribuido à competição entre as energias de troca, intracamadas e intercamadas. Foi realizada uma análise das oscilações SdH através da transformada de Fourier (FFT), para mostrar que as propriedades eletrônicas tais como a concentração e mobilidade dos elétrons, nas amostras de poços duplos, decrescem à medida que aumenta a concentracão de Al. As propriedades eletrônicas nas amostras de poços triplos dependem dos parâmetros de crescimento, tal como a largura dos poços e barreira. Na segunda parte, são apresentados diagramas de fase ns-B, obtidos através da justaposição dos espectros de magnetorresistência, em amostras de poços duplos e triplos em campo magnético perpendicular e certos valores de campo inclinado. Mostra-se que, em campo magnético perpendicular, o modelo de uma partícula sem interações descreve com boa aproximação o aparecimento dos anéis no diagrama de fase para a amostra de poço duplo com g = -0,44. No entanto, na amostra com g ~ 0 o modelo não descreve em boa aproximação os diagramas de fase em campo magnético perpendicular e inclinado, precisando de um modelo que inclua termos de interação de muitos corpos para uma possível explicação. Também se prediz a existência de um estado canted antiferromagnético. O modelo também mostrará que os diagramas de fase das amostras de poços triplos têm um comportamento semelhante ao das amostras de poços duplos, quando a densidade de elétrons do poço central é baixa comparada com a densidade dos poços laterais. / In this work, we present studies about the electronic transport of charges and phase diagrams in the ns-B plane in electronic bilayers or double quantum wells formed of both AlxGa1-xAs and GaAs semiconductor alloys, also in GaAs triple quantum wells. For this purpose, double quantum wells with different aluminium compositions (Al(x)) in each well and triple quantum wells samples were growth. Firstly, a theoretical study was presented, which showed that in double quantum wells with different Al compositions, the aplication of gate voltages allow the modulation of the Landé g factor of the electrons confined within each well. In particular, the case where the quantum wells have different Al compositions was studied, which lead to the opposite signs of the electronic g-factor in each well. After this, a theoretical study of the electronic structure has been presented of both double and triple quantum wells, then, a basic theory has been presented, which will be the base for the interpretation of our experimental results. At the frst part of our work, magnetotransport measurements (Shubnikov-de Haas (SdH) and Hall) were performed in all the studied samples. In the double quantum well sample (3242), wich has Landé g-factor with opposite signs in each well, was found the spin gap collapse at the Shubnikov-de Haas oscillations with an increase in the magnetic field, that is, the sum of the bare Zeeman energy and exchange potencial energy has the same magnitude of the disorder potencial. This collapse was attributed to the competition between the interlayer and intralayer exchange energies. Fast Fourier transform (FFT) of the Shubnikov-de Haas oscillations was performed in the double and triple quantum well samples to show that the electronic properties, such as electron density and mobility decrease with the increase of the Al compositions. On the other hand, the electronic properties on the triple quantum well samples depend on growth parameters, such as width and heigh barriers of the wells. At the second part ns- B phase diagrams were determined through the superposed longitudinal magnetoresistance, in the double and triple quantum wells samples at the perpendicular magnetic field and certain values of tilted magnetic fields. It has been shown that in a perpendicular magnetic field a single particle model describes in a good aproximation the appearance of ring structures in the phase diagram of the double quantum well with g = -0:44. Meanwhile, at the sample with vanishing Landé g-factor (g ~ 0) the single particle model can not describe in a good approximation the phase diagram, being a requirement a many particle model for an possivel explanation. It has also been predicted the existence of a canted antiferromagnetic state. Finally, the model will also showed the phase diagram of triple quantum wells are similar to double quantum wells, when the electron density of the middle well is low compared to the side wells.

Les transitions intersousbandes dans les hétérostructures de nitrure d’éléments III ont été intensément étudiées dans le proche infrarouge pour des applications télécoms. L’accordabilité dans le proche infrarouge est rendu possible grâce à la discontinuité de potentiel en bande de conduction qui peut atteindre 1.75 eV pour le système GaN/AlN. Les matériaux nitrures suscitent actuellement un grand intérêt à plus grande longueur d'onde infrarouge. C'est par exemple le développement de détecteurs et d'imageurs rapides à cascade quantique dans la gamme 2-5 µm. C'est aussi l'extension des dispositifs intersousbandes dans le domaine de fréquences THz. Ce travail de thèse porte sur l’étude des transitions intersousbandes dans les puits quantiques GaN/Al(Ga)N épitaxiés par jets moléculaires. Le but est d’accorder ces transitions dans une gamme spectrale très large allant du proche au lointain infrarouge. Je montre que les transitions ISB peuvent être accordées dans la gamme 1-12 µm dans les puits quantiques GaN/AlGaN en phase hexagonale synthétisés selon l'axe polaire c [0001]. Ceci impose l'ingénierie du champ électrique interne, dont la valeur peut atteindre dans le GaN 10 MV/cm. Une solution alternative consiste à utiliser une orientation particulière, dite semipolaire, qui conduit à une réduction du champ électrique interne le long de l'axe de croissance [11-22]. J’ai montré que cette réduction du champ interne permet d’accorder les résonances intersousbandes des puits quantiques GaN/AlN dans le proche infrarouge et j’ai pu estimer le champ en comparant les résultats de spectroscopie et simulations. J’ai d’autre part étudié les propriétés interbandes et intersousbandes des puits quantiques de symétrie cubique, qui par raison de symétrie, ne présentent pas de champ électrique interne. Finalement j’ai mis en évidence les premières transitions intersousbandes aux fréquences THz dans les puits quantiques GaN/AlGaN polaires mais aussi cubiques. / Most of the research on GaN-based intersubband transitions has been focused on near-infrared applications, benefiting from the large conduction band offset between GaN and AlN1.75 eV. Devices such as all-optical switches, electro-optical modulators, quantum cascadedetectors, or light emitters have been demonstrated at short infrared wavelengths. Nitridematerials are currently attracting a great interest at longer infrared wavelengths, for example, forthe development of high-speed quantum cascade detectors and imagers in the range 2-5 µm. Inaddition, there is a great interest to extend the operation of nitride intersubband devices to theTHz frequency range especially for the development of quantum cascade lasers operating at non-cryogenic temperature.This work is focused on the study of intersubband transitions in GaN/Al(Ga)N quantumwells grown by molecular beam epitaxy. The goal is to tune these transitions in a broad spectralrange, from near to far infrared. I show that intersubband transitions may be tuned withinthe range 1-12 µm in the polar GaN/AlGaN quantum wells. This requires the engineering of theinternal electric fields, which can be as high as 10 MV/cm in GaN/AlN quantum wells. Analternative approach is to use a particular orientation, known as semipolar, which leads toa reduction of the internal electric field along the growth axis [11-22]. I show that this reductionof the internal field induces a redshift of the intersubband energy allowing to reach the mid-infrared domain. I was able to estimate the electric field in semi-polar structures by comparingthe results of spectroscopy and simulations. I also investigate interband andintersubband optical properties of cubic GaN/AlN quantum wells, for which the internal field isabsent due to the high symmetry of the cubic crystal. Finally, I report the first observation of theintersubband absorption at terahertz frequencies in polar GaN/AlGaN step quantum wells andin cubic quantum wells.

Le tellurure de mercure et de cadmium (HgCdTe ou MCT) est un matériau reconnu pour la physique de la matière condensée, dont l'histoire, datant aujourd'hui de plus de cinquante ans, constitue un excellent exemple des progrès remarquables réalisés dans la recherche sur les semi-conducteurs et les semi-métaux. Notre travail est principalement motivé par l’intérêt fondamental que suscitent ces systèmes, mais notre recherche peut également avoir un impact pratique (indirect) sur la médecine, la surveillance ou la détection de l’environnement ainsi que sur les systèmes de sécurité. Cela peut aider à améliorer les performances des photodétecteurs dans la limite des grandes longueurs d'onde ou à faciliter la fabrication de dispositifs émettant de la lumière.La présente thèse de doctorat vise principalement à combler certaines des lacunes de notre compréhension de la structure de bande électronique des hétérostructures 2D et quasi-2D basées sur les matériaux HgTe/HgCdTe et InAs/InSb, qui peuvent être transformés en phase topologiquement isolante à l'aide des paramètres de croissance. Pour explorer leurs propriétés, la technique expérimentale de base, la magnéto-spectroscopie infrarouge et THz fonctionnant dans un large éventail de champs magnétiques, est combinée à des mesures complémentaires de magnéto-transport. Cette combinaison de méthodes expérimentales nous permet d’obtenir de précieuses informations sur les états électroniques non seulement à l’énergie de Fermi, mais également dans son voisinage relativement large. Diverses hétérostructures ont été étudiées avec des caractéristiques globales et/ou spécifiques déterminées principalement par les paramètres de croissance.La réponse magnéto-optique observée, due aux excitations intra-bande (résonance cyclotron) et interbandes (entre les niveaux de Landau) peut être interprétée dans le contexte d'études antérieures sur des échantillons 3D, des puits quantiques et des super-réseaux, mais également en rapport aux attentes théoriques. Ici, nous visons à obtenir une explication quantitative des données expérimentales recueillies, mais également à développer un modèle théorique fiable. Ce dernier comprend le réglage précis des paramètres de structure de bande présents dans le modèle établi de Kane, mais surtout, l'identification de termes supplémentaires pertinents (d'ordre élevé) nécessaires pour parvenir à un accord quantitatif avec nos expériences. On peut s’attendre à ce que les corrections dues à ces termes supplémentaires affectent davantage les sous-bandes de valence, généralement caractérisées par des masses effectives relativement importantes et, par conséquent, par une grande densité d’états ou, lorsque le champ magnétique est appliqué, par un espacement assez étroit (et mélange important) des niveaux de Landau. / Mercury cadmium telluride (HgCdTe or MCT) is a time-honored material for condensed matter physics, whose history  nowadays more than fifty years long  may serve as an excellent example of remarkable progress made in research on semiconductors and semimetals. The ternary compound HgCdTe implies two important aspects, which largely contributed to its undoubted success in solid-states physics.The present PhD thesis primarily aims at filling some of existing gaps in our understanding of the electronic band structure in 2D and quasi-2D heterostructures based on HgTe/HgCdTe and InAs/InSb materials, which both may be tuned into topologically insulating phase using particular structural parameter. To explore their properties, the primal experimental technique, infrared and THz magneto-spectroscopy operating in a broad of magnetic fields, is combined with complementary magneto-transport measurements. This combination of experimental methods allows us to get valuable insights into electronic states not only at the Fermi energy, but also in relatively broad vicinity.The observed magneto-optical response - due to intraband (cyclotron resonance) and interband inter-Landau level excitations - may be interpreted in the context of previous studies performed on bulk samples , quantum wells and superlattices, but also compared with theoretical expectations. Here we aim at achieving the quantitative explanation of the collected experimental data, but also further developing a reliable theoretical model. The latter includes the fine-tuning of the band structure parameters present in the established Kane model, but even more importantly, identifying additional relevant (high-order) terms and finding their particular strengths, needed to achieve quantitative agreement with our experiments. One may expect that corrections due to these additional terms will more affect the valence subbands, which are in general characterized by relatively large effective masses. Consequently, valence subbands have larger density of states compared to conduction band or, when the magnetic field is applied, rather narrow spacing (and possibly large mixing) of Landau levels.

Dans cette thèse, nous nous intéressons à la croissance de boîtes quantiques par formation de nano-trous in-situ par « droplet-etching » ainsi qu’à la fabrication et caractérisation de dispositifs basés sur ces nanostructures. La thèse comporte sept chapitres. Le premier chapitre est une introduction au sujet et les méthodes expérimentales sont présentées dans le second chapitre. Les méthodes de fabrication ainsi que les résultats expérimentaux obtenus sont discutés dans le troisième chapitre.Nous montrons que l’utilisation in-situ de la méthode de droplet-etching permet de modifier localement l’épaisseur d’un puits quantique à modulation de dopage et créer des boîtes quantiques dans le puits où existe un gaz bidimensionnel d’électrons. Ces nanostructures constituent des diodes n-i Schottky que nous avons étudié. Les effets de ces boîtes quantiques non-contraintes et les fluctuations d’épaisseur à l’échelle nanométrique du puits quantique sur la mobilité du gaz bidimensionnel d’électrons sont discutés dans le quatrième chapitre et cinquième. Le sixième chapitre présente la fabrication d’une jonction p-n latérale basée sur l’échantillon de puits quantique avec des boîtes. Nous discutons les différentes étapes de fabrication et analysons leur influence sur le dispositif, ainsi que leurs propriétés optiques. En particulier, nous démontrons l’électroluminescence d’une boîte unique localisée dans une jonction p-n latérale. Finalement, le dernier chapitre conclue ce travail et en présente les perspectives. / In this thesis the formation of quantum dots (QD) via in-situ droplet nanohole etching, the fabrication and characterization of devices based on these nanostructures is described. The thesis consists of seven chapters. In the first chapter an introduction is given to present the topic to the reader. In the second chapter the experimental methods are presented. In the third chapter, the fabrication method is described and the experimental results obtained in this project are discussed. It will be shown the use of in-situ droplet etching to locally modify the thickness of a modulation doped quantum well, to create QDs embedded in a quantum well(QW) where a two dimensional electorn gas (2DEG) is confined by modulation doping and the embedding of these nanostructures in a n-i-Schottky diode. The effect of these strain-free dots, and the related nanoscale thickness fluctuations of the quantum well, on the 2DEG mobility are discussed in the fourth and in particular in the fifth chapter. In the sixth chapter, the fabrication of a lateral p-n junction based on the QW sample with embedded QD is presented. Following describing the fabrication stages and analysing the influence of each stage on the device, the optical properties of the junction will be discussed. In particular, it will be shown the electroluminescence of a single dot located at lateral the p-n junction. Finally, in the last chapter the conclusion of this work and the future projects are presented.

Cette thèse porte sur l'étude des ondes de spin dans des puits quantiques CdMnTe dopés n, par rotation Kerr résolue en temps (TRKR) et par mélange à quatre ondes (FWM). Nous avons étudié trois échantillons de haute mobilité et de caractéristiques différentes.La technique TRKR donne accès uniquement aux excitations de vecteur d'onde nul, dans notre cas l'onde spin-flip en q=0. Nous avons étudié l'anticroisement qui apparait entre l'onde spin-flip et l'excitation spin-flip des ions manganèse. Nous avons étudié la variation du gap, et donc de l'énergie de couplage, entre ces modes en fonction de la puissance d'excitation et du champ magnétique. En particulier nous avons étendu les mesures des modes mixtes à plus basse concentration en Mn (jusqu'à 0.07%) et contrairement à ce qui était attendu, nous avons trouvé que le régime de couplage fort persiste à cette concentration.Nous nous sommes ensuite intéressés à la détermination de la polarisation en spin ζ du gaz d'électrons bidimensionnel, qui peut être déduite de l'énergie de couplage entre les modes mixtes. Nous avons trouvé que la polarisation mesurée par cette méthode excède la polarisation théorique calculée en prenant en compte le renforcement de la susceptibilité par les effets à N corps. Nous avons également mesuré les temps de relaxation des électrons confinés dans le puits quantique, et nous avons montré l'influence de l'échauffement de l'échantillon par le laser sur le temps de relaxation de spin des électrons.Dans la deuxième partie de cette thèse, nous avons étudié par FWM l'amortissement et la dispersion des ondes de spin de vecteur d'onde non nul pour l'un de nos échantillons. Nous avons démontré qu'on peut effectivement générer les ondes de spin en excitation femtoseconde, et les détecter en FWM. Nous avons trouvé que leur dispersion est plus faible que celle observée dans les expériences de Raman. Cette faible dispersion pourrait être imputable à la forte densité d'excitation utilisée dans les expériences de FWM (typiquement trois à quatre ordres de grandeur supérieurs à celle du Raman), et/ou au fait que deux ondes de vecteur d'ondes q et –q, ayant des dispersions différentes, sont sondées simultanément en FWM. / This thesis focuses on the study of spin waves in n-doped CdMnTe quantum wells using respectively time-resolved Kerr rotation (TRKR) and four-wave mixing (FWM) techniques. We studied three high mobility samples with different characteristics.The TRKR technique gives access only to zero wave vector excitations, in our case the spin- flip wave q = 0 . We studied the anticrossing that appears between the spin -flip wave and the manganese spin -flip excitation. We studied the gap variation energy between these modes as function on the power excitation and the magnetic field. In particular, we have extended the measurements of mixed modes at lower Mn concentration (up 0.07 %) and contrary to what were expected; we found that the strong coupling regime persists at this concentration.We are then interested in determining the two dimensional electron gas spin polarization ζ, which can be deduced from the energy coupling between the mixed modes. We found that the measured polarization exceeds the theoretical polarization calculated taking into account the increased susceptibility by many-body effects. We also measured the electron spin relaxation time and we have shown that it is influenced by thermal effects inherent to optical pump-probe experiments on this time.In the second part of this thesis, we studied by FWM the damping and the dispersion of the non-zero wave vector spin waves for one of our samples. We have demonstrated that we can actually generate spin waves in femtosecond excitation and deted them by FWM. We found that the dispersion is lower than that observed in the Raman experiments. This low dispersion may be due to the strong excitation density used in the FWM experiments (typically three to four orders of magnitude higher than the Raman ones) and / or the fact that two waves of wave vector q and - q, having different dispersions are simultaneously probed in FWM .

Ce travail de thèse porte sur la conception et la réalisation de méta-structures pour l’amelioration des performances de détecteurs dans les gammes spectrales du moyen infrarouge et du térahertz (THz). Ces méta-structures sont des matrices de résonateurs métalliques qui actent aussi comme antennes, permettant une meilleure collection des photons et un plus fort confinement du champ électrique. Dans ce manuscrit, j’examine les résultats expérimentaux concernant deux photo-detecteurs infrarouges à puits quantiques (QWIP) résonants à une longueur d'onde de 55.5 µm (5.4 THz) et de 8.6 µm, implémentés dans des réseaux d’antennes patch. La responsivité, la détectivité et les performances thermiques des dispositifs en microcavité sont systématiquement comparées au même détecteur fabriqué en géométrie standard ‘mesa’, pour lequel le rayonnement infrarouge est couplé par le substrat. La cohérence du modèle est évaluée en comparant le gain photoconducteur de chaque structure QWIP. Dans le moyen infrarouge, le fonctionnement à température ambiante avec une source de radiation thermique est démontré pour la première fois. De plus, en exploitant la courte durée de vie des porteurs dans la zone de QWIP, une détection hétérodyne à température ambiante a été démontrée jusqu’aux fréquences de quelques GHz, limitée uniquement par la fréquence de coupure du circuit externe. Dans la dernière partie de ce manuscrit, plusieurs perspectives sont discutées concernant des structures de détecteurs quantiques couplés à la géométrie de résonateurs patch et des architectures inspirées des métamateriaux, avec la perspective d’améliorer davantage les performances des photodétécteurs / The present thesis manuscript is about the conception and the realisation of metastructures for the improvement of detector performances in the mid-infrared and terahertz (THz) spectral ranges. These meta-structures are arrays of metal resonators that also act as antennas, allowing a better collection of photons and a stronger confinement of the electric field. In this manuscript, I examine the experimental results regarding a 55.5 µm (5.4 THz) and a 8.6 µm quantum well infrared photodetectors (QWIP), implemented into patch-antennae arrays. The responsivity, the specific detectivity and the thermal performances of the antenna-coupled devices are systematically compared to the same detector processed in standard substrate-coupled ‘mesa’ geometry. In the mid-infrared, the room temperature operation using a thermal radiation source is reported for the first time. Moreover, exploiting the short carrier lifetime in semiconductor quantum wells, a room temperature heterodyne detection is demonstrated, at frequencies up to few GHz, limited only by the cut-off frequency of the external circuit. In the last part of this work, several perspectives are discussed, regarding alternative quantum detector structures coupled to the patch resonators geometry and innovative circuit-like plasmonic architectures, envisioning orders of magnitude improvement in photodetector performances

The behaviour of electrons in nanostructures such as quantum wells is of interest for the design of new electronic and electro-optic devices, and also for exploration of basic many-body physics. This thesis develops and tests improved methods for describing such electronic behaviour. The system used for this work was the parabolic quantum well (PQW), an important special system which has recently attracted much experimental and theoretical attention. We firstly report self-consistent nonlinear groundstate solutions of the Poisson equation together with the Thomas-Fermi (TF) hydrostatic equations. In contrast to most previous solutions, all the electron density profiles were inhomogeneous and continuous. We also added a von Weizsacker term with and without the exchange/exchange-correlation to the above treatment, using a novel numerical approach allowing for wider electron gases than previously possible. We also report for the first time the effects of spatially varying effective mass and dielectric function in theories of this type. To investigate infrared response of these systems, we apply new hydrodynamic theories recently proposed by Dobson. By using this type of theory, we simultaneously satisfy the Harmonic Potential Theorem (extended generalized Kohn theorem) and obtain the correct 2D plasmon dispersion, as well as obtaining the correct spacing of standing plasmons. Other inhomogeneous hydrodynamic theories do not achieve this. We also showed analytically an exact solution for a plasmon mode at the Kohn frequency in addition to one found in the Harmonic Potential Theorem. An open hydrodynamic theory was then developed based on this type of mode. Numerical application of Kohn Frequency Theorem theory was shown and the results were compared with other existing hydrodynamic theories.

Semiconductor nanostructures exhibit many remarkable electronic and optical properties. The key to designing and utilising semiconductor quantum structures is a physical understanding of the detailed excitation, transport and energy relaxation processes. Thus the nonequilibrium dynamics of semiconductor quantum structures have attracted extensive attention in recent years. Ultrafast spectroscopy has proven to be a versatile and powerful tool for investigating transient phenomena related to the relaxation and transport dynamics in semiconductors. In this thesis, we report investigations into the electronic and optical properties of various semiconductor quantum systems using a variety of ultrafast techniques, including up-conversion photoluminescence, pump-probe, photon echoes and four-wave mixing. The semiconductor quantum systems studied include ZnO/ZnMgO multiple quantum wells with oxygen ion implantation, InGaAs/GaAs self-assembled quantum dots with different doping, InGaAs/InP quantum wells with proton implantation, and silicon quantum dots. The spectra of these semiconductor nanostructures range from the ultraviolet region, through the visible, to the infrared. In the UV region we investigate excitons, biexcitons and oxygen implantation effects in ZnO/ZnMgO multi-quantum wells using four-wave mixing, pump-probe and photoluminescence techniques. Using time-resolved up-conversion photoluminescence, we investigate the relaxation dynamics and state filling effect in InGaAs self-assembled quantum dots with different doping, and the implantation effect in InGaAs/InP quantum wells. Finally, we study the optical properties of silicon quantum dots using time-resolved photoluminescence and photon echo spectroscopy on various time scales, ranging from microseconds to femtoseconds.

We correlated experimental results with theoretical estimations of the dielectric function ε(ω) in two contexts: the effect of an electric field in quantum wells and that of the spin polarization of an interacting electron-hole plasma in bulk semiconductors. In the first part, we recorded photoreflectance spectra from Ge/GeSi quantum wells of different widths but having comparable builtin electric fields caused by doping. The reason why the spectra differed in overall shape was difficult to understand by conventional methods, for example, by calculating the allowed transition energies or by fitting the data with lineshape functions at each transition energy. Instead, we computed the photoreflectance spectra from first-principles by using the confined electron and hole wavefunctions. This method showed that the spectra differ in overall shape because of the experimentally hitherto unobserved trend in quantum well electro-optical properties, from the quantum confined Franz-Keldysh effect to the bulk Franz-Keldysh effect, as the well width is increased. The second part develops a threeband microscopic theory for the optical properties due to spin-polarized carriers in quasiequilibrium. We show that calculations based on this theory reproduce all the trends observed in a recent circularly polarized pump-probe experiment reported in the literature. To make the computation less intensive, we proposed a simplified, two-band version of this theory which captured the main experimental features. Besides, we constructed a cw diode laser-based pump-probe setup for our own optical studies of spin-polarized carriers by Kerr rotation. We achieved a sensitivity of detection of Kerr rotation of 3 x 10¯ 8 rad, corresponding to an order of magnitude improvement over the best reports in the literature. The efficacy of our setup allowed for the demonstration of a pumpinduced spin polarization in bulk GaAs, under the unfavorable conditions of steady-state and room temperature.

The innovation of advanced technology and the requirement of electronic market are always focusing on low cost electronics, presenting an easy processing and having enhanced performance. Organic-inorganic hybrid perovskites, which combine the properties of organic and inorganic semiconductors, are hopeful candidates for future opto-electronic devices. The exciton binding energies and oscillator strengths are very large in these systems making the applications at room temperature possible. In this thesis, we study the flexibility and photostability of self-assembled two-dimensional layered perovskites (R-NH3)2PbX4. By modifying the R structure, perovskites with optimized photoluminescence efficiency, surface roughness and photostability are discovered. We develop also some methodologies to fabricate crystal bulks and nanoparticles of perovskites, and we create new mixed perovskite crystals: (RNH3)2PbYxX4-x and AB-(NH3)2PbX4. Vertical microcavities containing these new materials and working in the strong coupling regime at room temperature have been realized, the emission of the lower energy polariton is observed.