Abstract

For all applications involving intersubband transitions ^{(1, 2)} (ISBTs) (like Quantum Well Infrared Photodetectors⁽³⁾), the interaction between light and quantum confined electrons yields to the very stringent quantum mechanical selection rule governing intersubband transitions, which stipulates that the electric field is absorbed through its component normal to the direction of confinement. The most important consequence of this selection rule is the impossibility to excite intersubband transitions at normal incidence.

© 1995 Optical Society of America