Femtosecond pump and probe measurement of all-optical modulation based on intersubband transition in n-doped quantum wells

An all-optical modulation of interband-resonant light (near-infrared signal light: 800 nm) by intersubband-resonant light (mid-infrared control light: 4–7 μm) in n-doped AlGaAs/GaAs multiple quantum wells is investigated by two-color femtosecond pump–probe experiments at room temperature. The modulation of the near-infrared signal light with an ultrafast recovery as short as 1 ps is successfully observed when the quantum wells are pumped by the mid-infrared control light pulse (4 fJ/μm²). The dependence of the modulation depth on the wavelength of the control light is also measured, which is shown to be consistent with the intersubband absorption spectrum of the quantum wells. The results indicate that the utilization of the intersubband transition is promising for the ultrafast all-optical modulation and switching.     

Controlling polariton coupling in intersubband microcavities

We report the external control of the intersubband polariton coupling by manipulating the carrier density in quantum wells resonantly coupled to a GaAs/AlGaAs microcavity. The electrons in the wells were tuned by means of a depletion gate bias or by utilizing charge transfer between the energetically aligned ground subbands of asymmetric tunnel-coupled quantum wells. We propose the use of tunnel-assisted control of the polariton ground state in an asymmetrically coupled quantum well for implementing ultrafast modulation of intersubband polaritons.     

Birefringence and absorption of infrared radiation in tunnel-coupled GaAs/AlGaAs quantum wells in a longitudinal electric field

Birefringence and absorption modulation under electron heating in a longitudinal electric field in the tunnel-coupled GaAs/AlGaAs quantum wells have been found and investigated in the spectral region corresponding to intersubband electron transitions. The observed phenomena are explained by electron heating in electric field and electron transfer in real space. The equilibrium absorption spectra at different lattice temperatures are analyzed.     

Phase-resolved nonlinear response of a two-dimensional electron gas under femtosecond intersubband excitation

Strong electric-field transients resonant to intersubband transitions in n-type modulation-doped GaAs/AlGaAs quantum wells induce coherent Rabi oscillations, which are demonstrated by a phase-resolved measurement of the light emitted by the sample. The time evolution of the intersubband polarization is influenced by Coulomb-mediated many-body effects. The subpicosecond period and the phase of the Rabi oscillations are controlled by the properties of the midinfrared driving pulse.     

Influence of delta doping on intersubband transition and absorption in AlGaN/GaN step quantum wells for terahertz applications

Effects of delta doping location and density on intersubband transitions in AlGaN/GaN step quantum wells for terahertz (THz) applications have been investigated by solving Schrödinger and Poisson equations self-consistently. It shows that delta doping near the GaN well/AlGaN step well interface causes a blue-shift, while delta doping in the barrier or near barrier/GaN well and barrier/step well interfaces cause a red-shift first and then a blue-shift with increasing doping density. The shifts are attributed to the combination of many body effect and internal field modulation effect, and can be more than 200% or 70% of the e₁–e₂ transition energy, as for blue-shift or red-shift, respectively. In addition, the influences of delta-doping location and density on the absorption coefficient are also investigated in detail. Delta doping at the middle of a layer is found much more desirable over uniform-doping in order to improve the absorption coefficient, especially in the step well.     

Dual-band pixelless upconversion imaging devices

We have proposed a type of mid-infrared (MIR) and far-infrared (FIR) dual-band imaging device, which employs the photon frequency upconversion concept in a GaN/AlGaN MIR and FIR dual-band detector integrated with a GaN/AlGaN violet light emitting diode. On the basis of the photoresponse of single-period GaN/AlGaN dual-band detectors, we present the detailed optimization of multiperiod GaN emitter/AlGaN barrier detectors and their applications to dual-band pixelless upconversion imaging. Satisfying images have been received through the analysis of the modulation transfer function and the upconversion efficiency in the GaN/AlGaN dual-band pixelless upconverters, which exhibit good image resolution, high quantum efficiency, and negligible cross talk.     

The phonon-assisted photon-drag effect in a two-dimensional semiconductor quantum-well structure

The phonon-assisted photon-drag effect in a two-dimensional semiconductor quantum well structure is investigated. By making use of second-order perturbation theory and the classical Boltzmann equation we found, by considering both intrasubband and the intersubband electronic transitions, that the electric field generated by the photon-drag effect in a typical GaAs–AlGaAs two-dimensional system is enhanced by almost one order of magnitude as compared with that of a bulk system. Moreover, the results can qualitatively account for the observed absorption spectra due to intersubband electronic transitions occurring in GaAs quantum wells.     

Electro-optical phenomena accompanying electron and hole heating in superlattices and quantum wells GaAs/AlGaAs and Ge/GeSi

New electro-optical phenomena in quantum-well structures, i.e. modulation of the light absorption and birefringence due to carrier heating in a strong electric field, have been investigated. The effects have revealed different features in the three types of structures under investigation, namely: (1) well-dopedn-type GaAs/AlGaAs multiple quantum wells, (2) barrier-dopedn-type GaAs/AlGaAs superlattices and (3) barrier-dopedp-type Ge/GeSi multiple quantum wells. Possible mechanisms of the phenomena have been discussed.     

双量子阱中的子带光吸收

由于微制造技术的不断发展,如液相外延(LPE),气相外延(VPE),金属有机化学气相沉积(MOCVD)以及分子束外延技术(MBE)等先进的材料生长技术方法也日趋完善,从而使得各种低维半导体量子器件(如半导体、超晶格、量子阱、量子线和量子点等)制造日趋成熟。由于这些低维半导体量子器件具有很强的非线性光效应,而且随着材料、外形、尺寸等的不同,非线性光效应也有很大的差别,更由于其可能存在的广泛的应用前景,所以近年来,一直是人们研究的重点。近来,由于人们相信,利用GaAs／AlGaAs量子阱有可能制造出一些新型的光学仪器,如光开关、光限幅器、光调制器等,所以,对不同势形的GaAs／AlGaAs量子阱的非线性光学特性一直吸引着人们进行理论和实验的研究。而在最近几年,对双量子阱的研究也成为了人们的研究重点。通过密度矩阵和迭代的方法,得到双量子阱中的第一、第三阶子带光吸收表达式,我们将用一个典型的GaAs／AlGaAs双量子阱代入其中进行数值计算,并进行讨论。我们的计算结果显示,阱的光吸收峰不但与中间的势垒宽度有关,更与入射光强有关。     

Intersubband absorption in strained AlGaN/GaN double quantum wells

The intersubband absorption of the four-energy-level system in strained AlGaN/GaN double quantum wells is calculated by considering the polarization effect and the strain modification on material parameters (e.g., the conduction band offset, the electron effective mass and the static dielectric constant). It is found that the electron wavefunctions mainly locate at the left well and penetrate into the left barrier. The absorption spectrum exhibits multiple peaks contributed by different transitions. The position and height of absorption peaks are not very sensitive to the structural parameters (i.e., composition and thickness) of the central barrier because of the strong built-in electric field. However, the coupling between two wells can be enhanced by strain modulation.     

Phonon-assisted normal incidence intersubband absorption in semiconductor quantum wells

In the presence of a normally incident mid-IR pulsed laser field, phonon-assisted photon absorption by both intrasubband and intersubband phonon scattering of conduction electrons in GaAs/AlGaAs quantum wells are predicted. The novel non-resonant and non-linear intersubband absorption is found by including the photon-induced phonon scattering process in a Boltzmann equation for phonon energies smaller than the energy separation between two electron subbands in the quantum well. The predicted phonon-assisted photon absorption by intersubband transitions of electrons from the first to the second subband is a unique feature in quantum-well systems and is expected to have a significant effect on the electron populations in both subbands.     

Radiative coupling of intersubband transitions in GaAs/AlGaAs multiple quantum wells

Radiative coupling of resonantly excited intersubband transitions in GaAs/AlGaAs multiple quantum wells can have a strong impact on the coherent nonlinear optical response, as is shown by phase and amplitude resolved propagation studies of ultrashort electric field transients. Upon increasing the driving field amplitude, strong radiative coupling leads to a pronounced self-induced absorption, followed by a bleaching due to the onset of delayed Rabi oscillations. A many-particle theory including light propagation effects accounts fully for the experimental results.     

Absorption and emission of terahertz radiation in doped GaAs/AlGaAs quantum wells

Spontaneous emission of terahertz radiation from structures with GaAs/AlGaAs quantum wells in a longitudinal magnetic field has been studied. It is shown that some bands in the emission spectrum can be related to radiative electron transitions between resonant and localized impurity states, as well as to the transitions with participation of subband states. The temperature dependence of the equilibrium intraband absorption of terahertz radiation and its modulation in a longitudinal electric field in GaAs/AlGaAs quantum wells has been investigated.     

Theoretical study of indirect excitons’ lifetime in coupled AlGaN/GaN quantum wells in the presence of an electrostatic trap

The lifetime of electrostatically trapped indirect excitons in a field-effect structure based on coupled AlGaN/GaN quantum wells has been theoretically studied. Within the plane of a double quantum well, indirect excitons are trapped between the surfaces of the AlGaN/GaN heterostructures and a semitransparent metallic top gate. The trapping mechanism has been assumed to be a combination of the quantum confined Stark effect and local field enhancement. In order to study the trapped exciton lifetime, the binding energy of indirect excitons in coupled quantum wells is calculated by finite difference method in the presence of an electric field. Thus, the lifetime of trapped excitons is computed as a function of well width, AlGaN barrier width, the position of double quantum well in the device and applied voltage.     

Ultrafast all-optical modulation by near-infrared intersubband transition in n-doped InGaAs/AlAsSb quantum wells

We demonstrate the ultrafast modulation of interband (IB)-resonant light (1.0–1.1 μm) by near-infrared intersubband (ISB)-resonant light (1.55–1.9 μm) in n-doped InGaAs/AlAsSb multiple quantum wells (QWs) using non-degenerate pump–probe spectroscopy. A modulation with an absorption recovery time of 1.0–2.0 ps has been observed in a planer-type modulation device due to ultrafast ISB relaxation of the carriers. The IB carrier relaxation process in the absence of an ISB-resonant light has also been investigated by time-resolved photoluminescence (PL) measurement. The modulation speed is determined by the inter- and intra-subband relaxation of the carriers in the conduction subband. The modulation speed at 1.1 μm due to an ISB-resonant pump light at 1.95 μm has been observed to be 1.4 ps at excitation energy of 500 fJ/μm².     

Improved carrier injection and confinement in InGaN light-emitting diodes containing GaN/AlGaN/GaN triangular barriers

In this study, an InGaN lighting-emitting diode(LED) containing GaN/AlGaN/GaN triangular barriers is proposed and investigated numerically. The simulation results of output performance, carrier concentration, and radiative recombination rate indicate that the proposed LED has a higher output power and an internal quantum efficiency, and a lower efficiency droop than the LED containing conventional GaN or AlGaN barriers. These improvements mainly arise from the modified energy bands, which is evidenced by analyzing the LED energy band diagram and electrostatic field near the active region.The modified energy bands effectively improve carrier injection and confinement, which significantly reduces electron leakage and increases the rate of radiative recombination in the quantum wells.     

Performance Improvement of GaN-Based Violet Laser Diodes

The influences of InGaN/GaN multiple quantum wells(MQWs) and AlGaN electron-blocking layers(EBL) on the performance of GaN-based violet laser diodes are investigated. Compared with the InGaN/GaN MQWs grown at two different temperatures, the same-temperature growth of InGaN well and GaN barrier layers has a positive effect on the threshold current and slope efficiency of laser diodes, indicating that the quality of MQWs is improved. In addition, the performance of GaN laser diodes could be further improved by increasing Al content in the AlGaN EBL due to the fact that the electron leakage current could be reduced by properly increasing the barrier height of AlGaN EBL. The violet laser diode with a peak output power of 20 W is obtained.     

Strong correlation of electronic and lattice excitations in GaAs/AlGaAs semiconductor quantum wells revealed by two-dimensional terahertz spectroscopy

Coulomb-mediated interactions between intersubband excitations of electrons in GaAs/AlGaAs double quantum wells and longitudinal optical phonons are studied by two-dimensional spectroscopy in the terahertz frequency range. The multitude of diagonal and off-diagonal peaks in the 2D spectrum gives evidence of strong polaronic signatures in the nonlinear response. A quantitative theoretical analysis reveals a dipole coupling of electrons to the polar lattice that is much stronger than in bulk GaAs, due to a dynamic localization of the electron wave function by scattering processes.     

Electrically injected cavity polaritons

We have realized an electroluminescent device operating in the light-matter strong-coupling regime based on a GaAs/AlGaAs quantum cascade structure embedded in a planar microcavity. At zero bias, reflectivity measurements show a polariton anticrossing between the intersubband transition and the cavity mode. Under electrical injection the spectral features of the emitted light change drastically, as electrons are resonantly injected in a reduced part of the polariton branches. Our experiments demonstrate that electrons can be selectively injected into polariton states up to room temperature.     

Electron mobility limited by surface and interface roughness scattering in AlxGa1-xN/GaN quantum wells

The electron mobility limited by the interface and surface roughness scatterings of the two-dimensional electron gas in AlxGa1-xN/GaN quantum wells is studied. The newly proposed surface roughness scattering in the AlGaN/GaN quantum wells becomes effective when an electric field exists in the AlxGa1-xN barrier. For the AlGaN/GaN potential well, the ground subband energy is governed by the spontaneous and the piezoelectric polarization fields which are determined by the barrier and the well thicknesses. The thickness fluctuation of the AlGaN barrier and the GaN well due to the roughnesses cause the local fluctuation of the ground subband energy, which will reduce the 2DEG mobility.