A Study on Electroabsorption Effects in Coupled Quantum Wells

Field-induced effects of optical absorption in coupled quantum wells, comprising two GaAs-AlAs quantum wells separated by a thin AlAs barrier, have been studied. The coupled system evolves into an uncoupled one, leading to large variations of the absorption coefficient at the absorption edge through the field-induced decoupling effect. The large linear shift of the quantum energy levels and an effective blue shift of the absorption edge with electric field lead to unique polarization and wavelength dependence of the electroabsorption effect.