Dynamics of Bloch Oscillations: Influence of Excitation Conditions

The dynamics of the Bloch oscillations in GaAs/Al(0.3)Ga(0.7)As superlattices are studied experimentally applying spectrally-resolved four-wave mixing in a self-diffraction geometry. We have found that the interband dephasing rate and the decay rate of the Bloch oscillations have different dependencies on excitation density. We have explored the dynamical features of the Bloch oscillations depending on the number of Wannier-Stark states excited. The conditions for observation of the Bloch oscillations and their harmonics are determined, the destructive role of excitons in the decay of the Bloch oscillations is demonstrated.