Linear optical absorption spectra of mesoscopic structures in intense THz fields: free particle properties

We theoretically study the effect of THz radiation on the linear optical absorption spectra of semiconductor structures. A general theoretical framework, based on non-equilibrium Green functions, is formulated, and applied to the calculation of linear optical absorption spectrum for several non-equilibrium mesoscopic structures. We show that a blue-shift occurs and sidebands appear in bulk-like structures, i.e., the dynamical Franz-Keldysh effect [A.-P. Jauho and K. Johnsen, Phys. Rev. Lett. 76, 4576 (1996)]. An analytic calculation leads to the prediction that in the case of superlattices distinct stable steps appear in the absorption spectrum when conditions for dynamical localization are met.Comment: 13 Pages, RevTex using epsf to include 8 ps figures. Submitted to Phys. Rev. B (3 April 97

Dynamics of electric field screening in a bulk GaAs modulator

The transient development of electric-field distributions in a biased GaAs film after low-density optical excitation is determined by measurements of Franz-Keldysh modulations with a time resolution of 100 fs. The experimental results are compared with theoretical calculations. The transient field is calculated with a drift-diffusion model. Our calculation of the dielectric function of GaAs includes the Coulomb coupling and the electric field. The resulting optical transmission changes are calculated with a transfer-matrix method. The theory predicts a modification of the Franz-Keldysh modulation due to the nonuniform field, in quantitative agreement with the experimental observations