High intensity mid infra-red spectroscopy of intersubband transitions in semiconductor quantum wells

High intensity (108 Wcm-2) mid-infrared spectroscopy has been used to study the optical response of intersubband transitions in InGaAs/InAlAs quantum wells with three conduction subbands. Steady state optical pumping of 2 x 1011 cm-2 electrons into the excited vertical bar2> subband and subsequent electron relaxation (via phonon emission) back to the ground vertical bar1> subband creates a non-equilibrium phonon population (phonon occupancy∼1 at T=30K). Phonon re-absorption leads to a non-thermal electron distribution where electron-phonon scattering rates ∼200-500fs-1 are much faster than electron-electron scattering. In this regime, the intersubband absorption is inhomogeneously broadened. For substantially weaker optical pumping (∼1 saturation intensity) however, the electron distribution is able to thermalise and the absorption is homogeneously broadened. The phenomenon of electromagnetically-induced quantum coherence is demonstrated between 3 confined electron subband levels in a quantum well which are almost equally spaced in energy. Applying a strong coupling field, two-photon-resonant with the 1-3 intersubband transition, produces a pronounced narrow transparency feature in the 1-2 absorption line. This result can be understood in terms of all 3 states being simultaneously driven into ''phase-locked'' quantum coherence by a single coupling field. We describe the effect theoretically with a density matrix method and an adapted linear response theory. Efficient (∼1%) second harmonic generation, resonantly enhanced near λ=8.6μm, has been observed in asymmetric double multi-quantum well (ADQW) structures. Both waveguide mode and 45 deg. wedge multi-bounce geometries were used. The phase matching in the waveguide mode was achieved by incorporating a separate multiple QW region which modifies (via Kramers-Kronig relation) the dispersion of light. In the case of the 45 deg. wedge geometry, the phases of second harmonic waves generated at sequential bounces were matched by changing the angle of internal reflection. (author)