Dynamic behavior and inter-subband electro-absorption of double quantum wells

Dynamic behavior of charge density and inter-subband electro-absorption spectra (including bound-to-bound and bound-to-continuum transitions) of double quantum wells under a uniform electric field is studied by a stabilization method. The double wells considered consist of one wide and one narrow well. The role of the narrow well is to provide an interference effect on the continuum states and to allow population switching. Both of these effects can significantly change the electro-absorption spectrum, thus making the double quantum well system a good candidate for an electro-optical switching device. Our study on the dynamic behavior of the coherent tunneling between two wells can also find applications in tera-hertz oscillators.