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Journal of the Optical Society of America B

Self-consistent theory of optical gain with and without inversion in semiconductor quantum wells

Ansheng Liu

Published Jun 1, 1998• 7 citations
Publisher

Abstract

In a self-consistent field formalism we investigated the weak-probe optical intersubband response of a three-subband semiconductor quantum well pumped by a strong coherent laser beam. We showed that, when the pumping photon energy is somewhat above the energy separation between the two lowest subbands, a combination of hole-burning effects and coherent pump–probe wave interactions can lead to both optical gain without population inversion and an Autler–Townes-like doublet in the probe optical spectrum. These two absorption peaks, whose positions are blueshifted as the pump intensity is increased, are due to the two-photon absorption process and light-induced intersubband transitions between the two upper states. It is also demonstrated that, in a stepwise two-photon pumping scheme, the optical gain with population inversion can also occur in the quantum-well system when a modestly strong pump field is present.

DOI
10.1364/josab.15.001741

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In a self-consistent field formalism we investigated the weak-probe optical intersubband response of a three-subband semiconductor quantum well pumped by a strong coherent laser beam. We showed that, when the pumping photon energy is somewhat above the energy separation between the two lowest subbands, a combination of hole-burning effects and coherent pump–probe wave interactions can lead to both optical gain without population inversion and an Autler–Townes-like doublet in the probe optical spectrum. These two absorption peaks, whose positions are blueshifted as the pump intensity is increased, are due to the two-photon absorption process and light-induced intersubband transitions between the two upper states. It is also demonstrated that, in a stepwise two-photon pumping scheme, the optical gain with population inversion can also occur in the quantum-well system when a modestly strong pump field is present.
Optical interband excitonic absorption of semiconductor quantum wells (QW’s) driven by a coherent pump field is investigated on the basis of semiconductor Bloch equations. The pump field has a photon energy close to the intersubband spacing between the first two conduction subbands in the QW’s. An external weak optical field probes the interband transition. The excitonic effects and pump-induced population redistribution within the conduction subbands in the QW system are included. When the density of the electron–hole pairs in the QW structure is low, the pump field induces an Autler–Townes splitting of the exciton absorption spectrum. The split size and the peak positions of the absorption doublet depend not only on the pump frequency and intensity but also on the carrier density. As the density of the electron–hole pairs is increased, the split contrast (the ratio between the maximum and the minimum values) is decreased, because the exciton effect is suppressed at higher densities owing to the many-body screening.
Summary form only given. In this paper, we present coherent optical effects in a quantum well system with two electron subbands coupled by a pump laser. The Coulomb and light induced electronic renormalization is investigated with generalized density-functional theory. On the basis of the renormalized electron states, the absorption coefficient of a probe light beam is studied for intersubband transition by using a self-consistent field theory. Both the electromagnetically induced transparency (EMIT) and probe light amplification without population inversion are found.
We propose a new class of intersubband lasers and amplifiers that achieve net gain without population inversion. The laser scheme is based on a unipolar semiconductor double quantum- well structure where gain occurs at a transition between conduction band subbands. In order to achieve net gain without inversion, we utilize Fano-type interferences. The semiconductor laser scheme that we are considering is analogous to the atomic lambda system that has been extensively analyzed in the context of electromagnetically induced transparency and lasing without inversion. A coherent coupling field however, is not required in the present scheme. The electronic coherence necessary for Fano-type interferences is established by resonant tunneling. For nonlinear optics applications, the asymmetry of the structure allows for (chi) (2) processes and therefore higher conversion efficiency or parametric gain.
When two electron conduction subbands in a doped quantum well are coupled by a coherent laser pumping, electromagnetically induced transparency and Rabi splitting in the interband absorption spectrum of a probe light are found for steady electron dressed states. The effect of light-electron interaction on electron and hole eigenenergies and states are calculated using a generalized density-functional approach. The change of absorption coefficient with the pump field amplitude is studied and explained.
With a coherent pump laser coupling two electron levels in quantum wells, Coulomb and light-induced electronic renormalization is investigated according to the density-functional theory. On the basis of the renormalization, the optical response function for intersubband absorption of a probe light beam is studied. Both the electromagnetically induced transparency and the probe light amplification without inversion are observed. The influences of the pump field strength, frequency detuning, electron density, and δ-doping position are determined.