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Effects of bulk inversion asymmetry and low interface symmetry on the optical properties of broken-gap heterostructures

Semenikhin, I. ; Zakharova, A. ; Nilsson, Kristina LU and Chao, Koung-An LU (2007) In Physical Review B (Condensed Matter and Materials Physics) 76(3).
Abstract
We have studied the influence of bulk inversion asymmetry (BIA) and the relativistic part of the low-symmetry interface Hamiltonian (IH) on intersubband optical transitions, induced by linearly polarized light, between strongly hybridized electron-hole states in asymmetrical InAs/GaSb broken-gap quantum wells grown along the [001] direction. The self-consistent calculations were performed using the Burt-Foreman envelope function theory and a sophisticated eight-band k center dot p model Hamiltonian. We found that the BIA and the IH can activate originally forbidden spin-flip optical transitions, and that the strength of the corresponding optical matrix elements depends on the light polarization direction and the quasiparticle in-plane wave... (More)
We have studied the influence of bulk inversion asymmetry (BIA) and the relativistic part of the low-symmetry interface Hamiltonian (IH) on intersubband optical transitions, induced by linearly polarized light, between strongly hybridized electron-hole states in asymmetrical InAs/GaSb broken-gap quantum wells grown along the [001] direction. The self-consistent calculations were performed using the Burt-Foreman envelope function theory and a sophisticated eight-band k center dot p model Hamiltonian. We found that the BIA and the IH can activate originally forbidden spin-flip optical transitions, and that the strength of the corresponding optical matrix elements depends on the light polarization direction and the quasiparticle in-plane wave vector. Both the BIA and the IH contribute significantly to this effect. When the initial electron-hole states are strongly hybridized, the spin-flip optical transition probability can be of the same order as the probability of the spin-conserved transitions. The BIA results in interface-localized terms in the optical matrix elements due to the material-dependent Kane's B parameter and produces a strong in-plane anisotropy in the absorption of light polarized along the [11] and [1 (1) over bar] directions. The IH also contributes to this effect. We found that the primary contribution to the optical anisotropy comes from the BIA-induced mechanism. (Less)
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author
; ; and
organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
in
Physical Review B (Condensed Matter and Materials Physics)
volume
76
issue
3
publisher
American Physical Society
external identifiers
  • wos:000248500800110
  • scopus:34547506665
ISSN
1098-0121
DOI
10.1103/PhysRevB.76.035335
language
English
LU publication?
yes
additional info
The information about affiliations in this record was updated in December 2015. The record was previously connected to the following departments: Mathematical Physics (Faculty of Science) (011040001), Department of Physics (011013000), Theoretical Chemistry (S) (011001039)
id
ccb7352f-7aa6-4e3b-8d1a-56fac7387ff0 (old id 691358)
date added to LUP
2016-04-01 16:08:29
date last changed
2023-01-04 21:37:29
@article{ccb7352f-7aa6-4e3b-8d1a-56fac7387ff0,
  abstract     = {{We have studied the influence of bulk inversion asymmetry (BIA) and the relativistic part of the low-symmetry interface Hamiltonian (IH) on intersubband optical transitions, induced by linearly polarized light, between strongly hybridized electron-hole states in asymmetrical InAs/GaSb broken-gap quantum wells grown along the [001] direction. The self-consistent calculations were performed using the Burt-Foreman envelope function theory and a sophisticated eight-band k center dot p model Hamiltonian. We found that the BIA and the IH can activate originally forbidden spin-flip optical transitions, and that the strength of the corresponding optical matrix elements depends on the light polarization direction and the quasiparticle in-plane wave vector. Both the BIA and the IH contribute significantly to this effect. When the initial electron-hole states are strongly hybridized, the spin-flip optical transition probability can be of the same order as the probability of the spin-conserved transitions. The BIA results in interface-localized terms in the optical matrix elements due to the material-dependent Kane's B parameter and produces a strong in-plane anisotropy in the absorption of light polarized along the [11] and [1 (1) over bar] directions. The IH also contributes to this effect. We found that the primary contribution to the optical anisotropy comes from the BIA-induced mechanism.}},
  author       = {{Semenikhin, I. and Zakharova, A. and Nilsson, Kristina and Chao, Koung-An}},
  issn         = {{1098-0121}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  number       = {{3}},
  publisher    = {{American Physical Society}},
  series       = {{Physical Review B (Condensed Matter and Materials Physics)}},
  title        = {{Effects of bulk inversion asymmetry and low interface symmetry on the optical properties of broken-gap heterostructures}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevB.76.035335}},
  doi          = {{10.1103/PhysRevB.76.035335}},
  volume       = {{76}},
  year         = {{2007}},
}