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Physical review. B, Condensed matter

Intersubband optical bistability induced by resonant tunneling in an asymmetric double quantum well

Mark I. Stockman, Lakshmi N. Pandey, Leonid S. Muratov, Thomas F. George

Published Oct 15, 1993• 25 citations
Publisher

Abstract

An intrinsic optical bistability in a double quantum well is described theoretically. The effect is based on the resonant tunneling of electrons against the electric-field force (the counterfield electron transfer) and is driven and controlled by far-ir radiation exciting an intersubband transition. The theory relies on the density-matrix technique and takes into account optical intersubband excitation, interwell tunneling, the relaxation of populations and polarizations, and the mean-field effects of the transferred electron charge (shifts of the levels and changes of matrix elements). Hysteresis-type curves are obtained for both the charge-transfer probability and the optical absorption as functions of the light intensity. The theory shows the effect to be readily observable under realistic conditions, with the exciting-light intensity as low as 50 W/${\mathrm{cm}}^{2}$.

DOI
10.1103/physrevb.48.10966

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An intrinsic optical bistability in a double quantum well is described theoretically. The effect is based on the resonant tunneling of electrons against the electric-field force (the counterfield electron transfer) and is driven and controlled by far-ir radiation exciting an intersubband transition. The theory relies on the density-matrix technique and takes into account optical intersubband excitation, interwell tunneling, the relaxation of populations and polarizations, and the mean-field effects of the transferred electron charge (shifts of the levels and changes of matrix elements). Hysteresis-type curves are obtained for both the charge-transfer probability and the optical absorption as functions of the light intensity. The theory shows the effect to be readily observable under realistic conditions, with the exciting-light intensity as low as 50 W/cm2{\mathrm{cm}}^{2}cm2.
We present self-consistent calculations of the energy levels in an asymmetric coupled quantum-well structure coupled to a CO2 laser source which is nearly resonant with an intersubband transition. Solving Schrödinger’s and Poisson’s equations concurrently with a set of rate equations, it is shown that intrinsic optical bistability can be achieved. The bistability arises from charge transfer and a subsequent, self-consistent shift of the energy levels which feeds back to the absorption rate. Using realistic parameters, an on-off intensity ratio of 4:1 at switching powers of a few 100 kW/cm2 is predicted at about 10-μm wavelength.
The effect of the electric field and intense laser field on the intersubband transition and optical absorption in an Al0.3Ga0.7As/GaAs asymmetric double quantum well is theoretically investigated by using the transfer matrix approach.The Hartree potential due to the electron-electron interaction is considered in our calculation.For intersubband transitions in an asymmetric double quantum well,the peaks of the absorption coefficient are found to be a blue or red shifted by tuning the intensity of the laser field and the applied electric field.It can be concluded that the intense laser field and external electric field have a considerable influence on the electronic and optical properties for an asymmetric double quantum well.
We study optical bistability (OB) behavior based on intersubband transitions in asymmetric double quantum wells (QWs) where tunneling-induced quantum inference can be observed. The system interacts with a probe-laser field and a control laser field by means of a unidirectional ring cavity. We show that OB can be controlled efficiently by tuning the coupling strength of the tunneling, the Fano-type interference, and the intensity of the control field. The influence of the frequency detuning of the probe and control fields on the electronic OB behavior is also discussed. This investigation can be used for the optimal design of semiconductor QW systems to achieve fast and low-threshold all-optical switches, which is much more practical than that in an atomic system because of its flexible design and the controllable interference strength.
Some interesting features of the intrinsic optical bistability, based on intersubband transitions in asymmetric semiconductor quantum wells, are analyzed within the two-level model. In particular, the excitation-induced levels shifting, on which the bistability relies, is found to be significantly influenced by the exchange-correlation potential, thus requiring self-consistent modeling-the simple charge separation dipole model is not accurate enough. The optical influence of the permanent dipole moment, characterizing bound states in asymmetric quantum wells, is also analyzed. This is found to have some beneficial and some adverse consequences on bistability, both of which may be quite important in realistic structures.>
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We propose coherent control and enhancement of the refractive index with zero absorption in an n-type asymmetric double quantum well using intersubband transitions. These effects are caused by quantum coherence and interference whereby a strong infrared laser mixes upper conduction subbands of an intersubband transition with an auxiliary subband. In the ${\mathrm{G}\mathrm{a}\mathrm{A}\mathrm{s}/\mathrm{A}\mathrm{l}}_{x}{\mathrm{Ga}}_{1\ensuremath{-}x}\mathrm{As}$ system considered here, an approximately 10% enhancement of the refractive index accompanied with zero absorption occurs at 10.5 \ensuremath{\mu}m, when the system is driven by a 6.2-\ensuremath{\mu}m laser field with an intensity of \ensuremath{\sim}1 MW/cm2{\mathrm{M}\mathrm{W}/\mathrm{c}\mathrm{m}}^{2}MW/cm2. The interplay between quantum coherence and electron population dynamics not only causes an enhancement of refractive index similar to that in atomic systems, but can also induce both low positive and negative group velocities.