Electronic 'crowd behavior' revealed in semiconductors

Physicists at JILA have confirmed subtle "collective behavior" among electronic structures in semiconductors, research that may help improve the design of optoelectronic devices. In the first image (#1, showing new experimental data), matching large peaks in the foreground, showing energy intensity ranging from low in blue to high in red, indicate that pairs of large electronic particles called excitons are oscillating in concert as they absorb ultrafast laser light and emit energy at various frequencies. The data match new theoretical models accounting for all electronic properties of semiconductors (image #2) much better than older theoretical models. Credit: JILA and University of Marburg