Abstract
Modulation of absorption of middle-infrared radiation in double tunneling-coupled quantum wells in longitudinal electric fields is studied. A specific feature of the quantum wells is the small separation in energy between the two lower levels. As a consequence, the levels may exhibit “anticrossing” even in low transverse electric fields. An interpretation of the change in intersubband absorption is suggested. The interpretation is based on the assumption that a transverse electric-field component may appear in the structure. The change in the absorption coefficient is calculated taking into account the redistribution of electrons between size-quantization subbands and the changes in the temperature of electrons in the subbands in the longitudinal electric field, as well as the changes in the optical matrix elements, the energies of transitions, and the concentrations of electrons in the subbands in the transverse electric field. The possibility of using the structure for the efficient modulation of middle-infrared light with the photon energy 136 meV is shown.
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Original Russian Text © V.L. Zerova, L.E. Vorob’ev, D.A. Firsov, E. Towe, 2007, published in Fizika i Tekhnika Poluprovodnikov, 2007, Vol. 41, No. 5, pp. 615–624.
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Zerova, V.L., Vorob’ev, L.E., Firsov, D.A. et al. Modulation of intersubband absorption in tunnel-coupled quantum wells in electric fields. Semiconductors 41, 596–605 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1134/S1063782607050211
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1134/S1063782607050211