Intraband Radiation Absorption by Free Holes in GaAs/InGaAs Quantum Wells with Allowance for Nonsphericity of the kP Hamiltonian

Abstract

A system of Kane’s equations has been derived and solved with allowance for elastic stresses and nonsphericity of the kP Hamiltonian. On this basis, analytic expressions for the energy spectra of charge carriers have been obtained and calculations of the optical absorption coefficient for heavy holes with transition to a spin-orbit-split hole band in GaAs/InGaAs quantum wells (QWs) have been performed for various polarization directions of the incident radiation. It is established that the maximum absorption in GaAs/InGaAs heterostructure takes place at a QW width of 4–6 nm.