A Brillouin Scattering Study of Acoustoelectric Domain Formation in n-GaAs

Brillouin scattering measurements in n-GaAs show (1) that the initial formation of acoustoelectric domains is the consequence of spatially inhomogeneous amplification produced by resistivity inhomogeneities, and (2) that the subsequent stages of domain evolution involve flux-dependent processes which further shape the domain; an important process appears to be parametric frequency conversion.