In-Plane Optical Anisotropy of [001]-Oriented Asymmetrical Quantum Wells
R. Djanelidze, E. Tsitsishvili
Institute for Cybernetics, Tbilisi Technical University, S. Euli 5, 0186, Tbilisi Georgia
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We consider polarization-sensitive optical effects in quantum wells grown from zinc blend semiconductor materials on the basis of an envelope-function approximation. Particular attention is paid to the case of normal incidence of linearly polarized light on a quantum well grown in the [001] crystallographic direction. We demonstrate that for the [001]-oriented quantum wells characterized by structure inversion asymmetry, in-plane optical anisotropy can be governed by a bulk-related microscopic mechanism. This intrinsic mechanism is due to the Γ8 valence band interaction, which is linear in the hole momentum operator and is allowed for bulk cubic crystals lacking a space inversion center. Analytical results are obtained in the limiting case of a strong confinement regime. The resulting in-plane optical anisotropy and related effects can be detected in the vicinity of exciton resonances.

DOI:10.12693/APhysPolA.143.30
topics: quantum wells, optical-related phenomena, spin-orbit coupling