Observation of the valence-subband level crossing in GaAs/GaAsP strained-barrier quantum well structures using circularly polarized photoluminescence excitation spectroscopy

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Abstract
We have investigated the valence‐subband level configuration in GaAs/GaAsP strained‐barrier quantum wells as a function of the well width. As we systematically varied the well width, we observed the crossover behavior between the n=1 heavy‐ and light‐hole states around the well width of 4 nm. Circularly polarized photoluminescence excitation (CPPLE) spectroscopy was used to identify the heavy‐ or light‐hole character of the observed transitions. Distinct polarization properties were observed in the strain‐split heavy‐ and light‐hole states in the GaAsP barriers, which indicated that the photoexcited electrons in the barriers retained spin memory well even after the capture into the well through the relaxation process of energy and momentum. Taking advantage of this method we were able to identify unequivocally the heavy‐ and light‐hole characters of the transitions in the quantum well. The well‐width dependence of the intersubband transition energies obtained by the CPPLE measurement is in good agreement with the calculation based on the effective mass approximation.