Resonant rayleigh scattering in semiconductor structures

A detailed study of the relative role played by localized and/or propagating intermediate excitonic states in, resonant Rayleigh scattering (RRS) is presented for a large set of GaAs quantum well (QW) and bulk structures. We show that the two kinds of states contribute to RRS through different mechanisms. We concluded that RRS occurs via localized states in QW heterostructures, very likely due to localization by the interface roughness, while bulk, crystals turn out to be better candidates for RRS via propagating states.