Optical absorption of a quantum well with an adjustable asymmetry

The effects of asymmetry and the electric field on the electronic subbands and the nonlinear intersubband optical absorption of GaAs quantum wells represented by a P?schl-Teller confining potential are studied. The potential itself can be made asymmetric through a correct choice of its parameter set and this adjustable asymmetry is important for optimizing the absorption. In that way optimal cases can be created. We calculate the modified wave functions and electronic subbands variationally. The linear and the nonlinear optical intersubband absorption coefficients are calculated. Numerical results for a typical GaAs quantum well are presented. The nonlinear part of the absorption coefficient is strongly modified by the asymmetry parameters while the electric field affects it at smaller values of the parameters. - 78.67.De Quantum wells     

加偏置电场的双曲线量子阱中线性与三阶非线性光学吸收系数的计算

利用紧致密度矩阵近似方法,研究了加偏置电场双曲线量子阱中的线性与三阶非线性光学吸收系数. 得到了该系统中的线性与三阶非线性光学吸收系数的解析表达式.分析了势阱的形状、外加电场的大小以及入射光场的强度对吸收系数的影响规律. 文章以典型的AlxGa1－xAs/ GaAs双曲线量子阱为例作了数值计算.结果表明：随着势阱宽度的增加,系统的吸收系数将减小;随着外加电场的增加,系统的非对称性增加,系统的吸收系数将增加;随着外加光场强度的增加,系统的吸收系数将减小,并且当光强增加到一定值时会出现明显的饱和吸收现象,这一结论为进一步的实验研究提供了相应的理论依据.     

Nonlinear intersubband optical absorption in semiparabolic quantum wells

The linear and third-order nonlinear optical absorptions in semiparabolic quantum wells are studied in detail. Analytic formulas for the linear and third-order nonlinear optical absorption coefficients are obtained using the compact density matrix approach. Based on this model, numerical results are presented for typical GaAs/AlGaAs semiparabolic quantum wells. The results show that the factors of the incident optical intensity and the semiparabolic confinement frequency have great influences on the total optical absorption coefficients.     

Phase dependence of cross-phase modulation in asymmetric quantum wells

We study the Kerr nonlinearity associated with cross-phase modulation based on electromagnetically induced transparency in asymmetric double quantum wells. It is shown that, different from atomic system, not only the nonlinear dispersion and absorption but also the linear absorption depends on the relative phase of the laser fields because of the Fano interference. By choosing the parameters appropriately, large cross-phase modulation with nearly vanishing two-photon absorption, even π phase shift with single photon level, could be achieved in the asymmetric quantum wells.     

Nonlinear optical absorption and optical rectification in near-surface double quantum wells: combined effects of electric, magnetic fields and hydrostatic pressure

The theoretical study of the combined effects of electric and magnetic fields and hydrostatic pressure on the nonlinear optical absorption and rectification is presented for electrons confined within an asymmetrical GaAs?Ga_1-x Alx As double quantum well. The effective mass, parabolic band, and envelope function approaches are used as tools for the investigation. The electric field is taken to be oriented along the growth direction of the heterostructure and the magnetic field is applied parallel to the interfaces of the quantum wells. The pressure-induced mixing between the two lowest conduction bands is considered both in the low and high pressure regimes. According to the results obtained it can be concluded that the nonlinear optical absorption and rectification coefficients depend in a non-trivial way on some internal and external parameters such as the size of the quantum wells, the direction of applied electric field, the magnitude of hydrostatic pressure, the stoichiometry of the wells and barriers, and the intensity of the applied magnetic field.     

Two-photon absorption processes in GaAs/Al x Ga1−x As quantum wells

Summary The two-photon absorption spectra of GaAs/AlGaAs multiple quantum well and superlattice structures have been experimentally investigated by means of the nonlinear luminescence technique in different polarization configurations. A strong excitonic effect overlapping the interband two-photon spectrum has been found and the selection rules for the excitonic transitions have shown to greatly change for different polarizations. The comparison of linear and nonlinear absorption measurements provides important information on the excited states of excitons in multiple quantum wells. Work partially supported by M.P.I.     

Calculation of Linear and Nonlinear Intersubband Optical Absorptions in Electric-Field-Biased Semiparabolic Quantum Wells

By using the compact density matrix approach and iterative procedure, a detailed procedure for the calculation of the linear and nonlinear intersubband optical absorption coefficients is given in the electric-field-biased semi-parabolic quantum wells (QWs). The simple analytical formulas for the linear and nonlinear optical absorption coefficients in the systems are also deduced. Numerical result on typical GaAs materials shows that, the linear and nonlinear optical absorption coefficients sensitively depend on the applied electric field and the confined potential frequency of the semiparabolic QW systems as well as the incident optics beam intensity.     

Vanishing and emerging of absorption quantum beats from electron spin coherence in GaAs quantum wells

We report experimental studies of absorption quantum beats induced by electron spin coherence in GaAs quantum wells. Absorption quantum beats occur for strongly localized excitons, but nearly vanish for mobile excitons in the third order nonlinear optical response. Pronounced quantum beats for mobile excitons emerge in an unusual fifth order process. These results, along with a qualitative analysis based on the use of N-exciton eigenstates, elucidate how the manifestation of electron spin coherence in the excitonic nonlinear optical response can differ fundamentally from that in an atomic system.     

Morse势阱中线性和三阶非线性光折射率的改变

利用量子力学中的密度矩阵算符理论和迭代方法,导出莫尔斯（Morse）势阱中线性和三阶非线性光折射率改变的解析表达式,并以典型的GaAs／AlGaAs Morse势阱为例进行数值计算。数值结果表明,随着入射光强度增强,总的折射率改变将减少;随着势阱参数a的增大,总的折射率改变将减小;而随着载流子浓度的增加,总的折射率改变将增加。结果表明要获得较大的折射率改变,则需选取较小的入射光强度,较小的参数a,较大的载流子浓度,从而为实验研究提供理论依据。     

直接带隙Ge耦合双量子阱中的光吸收系数

在有效质量近似下,详细研究了直接带隙Ge/Ge Si耦合双量子阱中带间光跃迁吸收系数和阈值能量随量子阱结构参数的变化情况.结果表明:随着量子阱阱宽增大,带间光跃迁吸收强度会逐渐减弱,阈值能量减小,吸收曲线向低能方向移动,出现了红移现象.增强耦合量子阱间的耦合效应使得带间光吸收强度显著提升.此外,与非对称耦合量子阱相比,耦合效应对对称耦合量子阱中光吸收系数的影响更为显著.     

ZnSe－ZnS量子阱的光学非线性

半导体量子阱及超晶格材料具有室温激子效应以及强的光学非线性从而得到人们广泛的重视。利用半导体量子阱和超晶格可以制备出高速度、低闭值、小尺寸及室温工作的半导体激光器、光双稳器件等一系列光电子器件.     

直接带隙Ge耦合双量子阱中的光吸收系数

在有效质量近似下,详细研究了直接带隙Ge/GeSi耦合双量子阱中带间光跃迁吸收系数和阈值能量随量子阱结构参数的变化情况。结果表明：随着量子阱阱宽增大,带间光跃迁吸收强度会逐渐减弱,阈值能量减小,吸收曲线向低能方向移动,出现了红移现象。增强耦合量子阱间的耦合效应使得带间光吸收强度显著提升。此外,与非对称耦合量子阱相比,耦合效应对对称耦合量子阱中光吸收系数的影响更为显著。     

Ultrasensitive femtosecond two-photon detector with resonantly enhanced nonlinear absorption

We report on two-photon detection based on nonlinear absorption between subbands in quantum wells. Resonantly enhanced nonlinear absorption, 6 orders of magnitude higher than that of typical bulk semiconductors, leads to a threshold power density for quadratic detection as low as 0.1 W/cm2 and to femtosecond time resolution. The approach facilitates dynamic characterization of the optical light field of infrared emitters with unprecedented sensitivity. We also present a new method for determining the intersubband and intrasubband scattering times by means of autocorrelation measurements.     

Intense laser effects on nonlinear optical absorption and optical rectification in single quantum wells under applied electric and magnetic field

In this work the effects of intense laser on the electron-related nonlinear optical absorption and nonlinear optical rectification in GaAs-Ga_1−xAl_xAs quantum wells are studied under, applied electric and magnetic field. The electric field is applied along the growth direction of the quantum well whereas the magnetic field has been considered to be in-plane. The calculations were performed within the density matrix formalism with the use of the effective mass and parabolic band approximations. The intense laser effects are included through the Floquet method, by modifying the confining potential associated to the heterostructure. Results are presented for the nonlinear optical absorption, the nonlinear optical rectification and the resonant peak of these two optical processes. Several configurations of the dimensions of the quantum well, the applied electric and magnetic fields, and the incident intense laser radiation have been considered. The outcome of the calculation suggests that the nonlinear optical absorption and optical rectification are non-monotonic functions of the dimensions of the heterostructure and of the external perturbations considered in this work.     

Nonlinear absorption of femtosecond light pulses under conditions of multiphoton resonances in solids

A theory of nonlinear absorption of femtosecond light pulses by bulk crystals and nanostructures of differing dimensionality is developed. The pulse width is assumed to be small compared to the relaxation times of the electron and hole momenta. Expressions for the absorbed energy under conditions of multiphoton resonance are derived for transitions between discrete or band-related electron states and between sub-band states of size quantization in quantum wells and quantum wires. The dependence of the absorbed energy on the multiphoton resonance detuning and pulse width is analyzed.     

Infrared absorption in SiGe/Si multiple quantum wells

Infrared absorption has been used to investigate the subband structures in SiGe/Si quantum wells. The quantum wells are prepared using RRH/VLP-CVD and consist of 20 periods of and 60 periods of . The good periodical and interface sharpness of the SiGe/Si quantum wells have been shown by Auger Electron Spectroscopy (AES). The absorption peaks due to transitions between the hole subbands and the conduction band have been observed in infrared absorption spectra. The transverse photocurrent spectrum parallel to the growth plane have also shown absorption peaks due to transitions between the heavy and light hole band states and the conduction band states in quantum wells.     

Magnetic field dependence optical properties of GaN/AlN multiple quantum wells

In this work, we have investigated the optical properties of some multiple quantum wells under the influence of an external magnetic field and (for the first time) number of wells. We have retained the total length of the structure constant which is technologically important. Then we have detected a blue shift in the absorption peak positions due to the application of the magnetic field and a red shift due to the increasing of the number of wells. The red shift is only seen in the multiple quantum wells with odd number of wells and the absorption peaks of the multiple quantum well with even number of wells are not changed.     

Linear and nonlinear intersubband optical absorption in symmetric double semi-parabolic quantum wells

The linear and the nonlinear intersubband optical absorption in the symmetric double semi-parabolic quantum wells are investigated for typical GaAs/AlxGa1−xAs. Energy eigenvalues and eigenfunctions of an electron confined in finite potential double quantum wells are calculated by numerical methods from Schrödinger equation. Optical properties are obtained using the compact density matrix approach. In this work, the effects of the barrier width, the well width and the incident optical intensity on the optical properties of the symmetric double semi-parabolic quantum wells are investigated. Our results show that not only optical incident intensity but also structure parameters such as the barrier and the well width really affect the optical characteristics of these structures.     

非对称耦合量子阱的吸收非线性增强

基于V 形三能级模型运用密度矩阵方程推导了非对称耦合量子阱三阶光学非线性极化率. 具体分析了三阶吸收非线性效率（三阶光学非线性极化率与线性吸收系数之比）随阱间电子相干振荡频率的变化规律. 理论结果表明：三阶吸收非线性效率对阱间电子相干振荡频率相当敏感，当阱间电子相干振荡频率增大时三阶吸收非线性效率显著增强，而当阱间电子相干振荡频率为零时，这种非线性效率类似于单量子阱情况. 与单量子阱相比，对于已设计好的非对称耦合量子阱结构其突出特征表现在，其非线性吸收与色散特性可经由沿材料生长方向偏压进行控制. 据此，我们预期利用这种非对称耦合量子阱结构能设计成光通信中的光限幅器和可控克尔光开关.     

Electric field effect on the second-order nonlinear optical properties in semiparabolic quantum wells

Electric field effect on the second-order nonlinear optical properties in semiparabolic quantum wells are studied theoretically. Both the second-harmonic generation susceptibility and nonlinear optical rectification depend dramatically on the direction and the strength of the electric field. Numerical results show that both the second-harmonic generation susceptibility and nonlinear optical rectification are always weakened as the electric field increases where the direction of the electric field is along the growth direction of the quantum wells, which is in contrast to the conventional case. However, the second-harmonic generation susceptibility is weakened, but the nonlinear optical rectification is strengthened as the electric field increases where the direction of the electric field is against the growth direction of the quantum wells. Also it is the blue (or red) shift of the resonance that is induced by increasing of the electric field when the direction of the electric field is along (or against) the growth direction of the quantum wells. Finally, the resonant peak and its corresponding to the resonant energy are also taken into account.