Transport and partial localization of electrons in strained short-period semiconductor superlattices

The transport of polarized electrons in photocathodes based on highly strained semiconductor superlattices is studied experimentally and theoretically. In the experiments, the electron emission from the photocathode excited by a femtosecond laser pulse is studied by time-resolved measurements. The response time and the spin relaxation time are experimentally determined. The photoresponse of the photocathodes is calculated, and the results are correlated with the experimental data. A conclusion regarding the partial localization of photoelectrons in the superlattice is drawn.