Effects of interdiffusion and electric field on the optical rectification coefficient of GaAs/AlwGa1−wAs systems: crossover from single to multiple quantum wells

Abstract

In the current study, we numerically investigate the optical properties of interdiffused GaAs/AlwGa1−wAs multiple quantum well systems under the influence of an external electric field. We solve the resulting Schrodinger equation by using a finite element method and present the algorithm. Here, our motivation was that the interdiffusion effect leads to a non-square more realistic confining potential profile. By using few animations, we show that the effect of the interdiffusion on the optical properties of the mentioned system is not so simple and trivial as has so far been described. These videos can also help experimentalists to select easier their physical parameters. The peak position and amplitude of optical rectification coefficient and probability density can be tuned using parameters such as interdiffusion length Ld, composition amplitude w0, electric field, system length and number of wells.