Abstract

Fueled by the recent success of mid-infrared quantum cascade lasers, optical devices based on intersubband (IS) transitions face a rising interest also in other wavelength ranges. In particular, the intrinsically ultrafast electron dynamics associated with IS-transitions warrants research into the latter for the communications wavelength rang e (λ~1.55μn). Few material systems, however, provide a sufficiently large band-discontinuity for the quantum wells (QWs) to accommodate the large subband spacing needed for such jhort wavelengths, Sb-based materials or group-III-nitrides presently being the best candidates.

© 2001 Optical Society of America