The nonlinear optical properties of GaAs/GaAlAs triple quantum well: Role of the electromagnetic fields and structural parameters

Being relevant to the field of device applications, multiple semiconductor quantum wells are systems that exhibit remarkable optical and electronic properties. These can be properly tuned by suitably modifying the composition, structural parameters, and the application of external probes. Here, the electronic and optical properties of a GaAs/GaAlAs triple quantum well have been investigated under the influence of applied electric and magnetic fields, as well as the change of well and barrier widths. We have used the diagonalization method to numerically solve the Schr¨odinger equation under the effective mass approximation for obtaining the subband energy levels and related electronic wave functions. The expressions used for evaluating linear, third-order nonlinear, and total optical absorption coefficients (TOACs) and relative refractive index changes (RRICs) were previously derived within the compact density matrix method. According to our results, whilst an increment in the applied electric field causes a red shift in TOACs and RRICs, a blue shift of the optical responses occurs with increasing the applied magnetic field. Besides, a blue shift is observed as well by changing the width of the central well (LwL), whilst a red shift is noticed when changing left and right wells (LwL and LwR) and barrier (LbL and LbR) widths for zero fields. We believe that our study could make a contribution to designing new quantum-well-based optoelectronic devices.