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The optical absorption spectra in a quantum well driven both by an intense terahertz (THz) and by an optical pulse are theoretically investigated within the theory of density matrix. We found that the optical absorption spectra and the splitting of the excitonic peaks splitting can be controlled by changing the THz field intensity and/or frequency. The Autler–Towns splitting is a result of the THz nonlinear dynamics of confined excitons, which is in agreement with the experiments. In addition, the dependence of the optical absorption on the quantum well width and the carrier density is also discussed. © 2004 American Institute of Physics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A detailed photophysical picture is elaborated for a structurally well-defined and symmetrical bis-tetracene dimer in solution. The molecule was designed for interrogation of the initial photophysical steps (S1 → 1TT) in intramolecular singlet fission (SF). (Triisopropylsilyl)acetylene substituents on the dimer TIPS-BT1 as well as a monomer model TIPS-Tc enable a comparison of photophysical properties, including transient absorption dynamics, as solvent polarity is varied. In nonpolar toluene solutions, TIPS-BT1 decays via radiative and nonradiative pathways to the ground state with no evidence for dynamics related to the initial stages of SF. This contrasts with the behavior of the previously reported unsubstituted dimer BT1 and is likely a consequence of energetic perturbations to the singlet excited-state manifold of TIPS-BT1 by the (trialkylsilyl)acetylene substituents. In polar benzonitrile, two key findings emerge. First, photoexcited TIPS-BT1 shows a bifurcation into both arm-localized (S1-loc) and dimer-delocalized (S1-dim) singlet exciton states. The S1-loc decays to the ground state, and weak temperature dependence of its emissive signatures suggests that once it is formed, it is isolated from S1-dim. Emissive signatures of the S1-dim state, on the other hand, are strongly temperature-dependent, and transient absorption dynamics show that S1-dim equilibrates with an intramolecular charge-transfer state in 50 ps at room temperature. This equilibrium decays to the ground state with little evidence for formation of long-lived triplets nor 1TT. These detailed studies spectrally characterize many of the key states in intramolecular SF in this class of dimers but highlight the need to tune electronic coupling and energetics for the S1 → 1TT photoreaction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Asymmetric double quantum wells (ADQWs) are optimized to exhibit maximum optical modulation sensitivity by varying the barrier width, barrier position, and well width. Anticrossing of the two lowest excitons in ADQWs significantly enhances the modulation sensitivity. Consideration of exciton mixing is crucial to obtain accurate estimates of the effects. For a given linewidth of the excitonic peaks, we find optimum structural parameters that exhibit maximum modulation sensitivity. Values of dα/dE of ∼ 6.51 × 104 kV-1 at 4.2 K and of ∼ 1.25 × 10³ kV-1 at 298 K are predicted in GaAs-based ADQWs. The result provides new design guidelines in fabricating high-sensitivity QW electroabsorption modulators. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]