Magnetic-field-effects on photoluminescence polarization in type II GaAs/AlAs superlattices

Optical orientation and alignment in the presence of a magnetic field have been applied to study the fine structure of excitons in type II GaAs/AlAs superlattices. We have developed a theory of polarized photoluminescence taking into account the anisotropic exchange splitting of the radiative excitonic doublet. The observed effects of the longitudinal and transverse magnetic fields on the polarization of the exciton emission unambiguously confirm that the actual symmetry of the exciton is lower that D_2d and that there exist two classes of excitons with opposite signs of the anisotropic exchange splitting.