Time-resolved phonon-sideband spectroscopy

Phonon-assisted recombination in bulk CdS is analyzed by means of time-resolved photoluminescence spectroscopy. The experimental results demonstrate that both excitons and electron–hole plasma contribute to the phonon-sideband emission, depending on the excitation conditions. This observation is supported by a microscopic theory of interacting electrons, phonons, and photons that generalizes previous investigations by including both correlated and uncorrelated luminescence sources.