Measurements of the polarization dependence of field-induced refractive index changes in GaAs/AlAs multiple quantum well structures

Abstract
The measurements of the polarization dependence of field‐induced refractive index changes in GaAs/AlAs multiple quantum wells, which are directly measured by using the modulation spectroscopy method for the TE and TM modes, are described. Clear polarization dependences, such as differences in the spectra shape and the peak wavelength, were observed. The polarization dependences originate from the different excitonic transitions: the n=1 heavy‐hole and light‐hole exciton for the TE mode and the n=1 light‐hole exciton for the TM mode. The experimental results show qualitatively good agreement with the theoretical calculation.