INFLUENCE OF THE FINITE LATERAL POTENTIAL BARRIERS ON THE OPTICAL-SPECTRA OF QUANTUM-WELL WIRES

We calculate the plasma-density dependent optical absorption spectra of quantum well wires with finite lateral confinement with respect to the quantum well. The excitonic absorption spectrum consists of a series of resonances due to quantum wire as well as higher lying quantum well states. The calculations include phase-space filling, band-gap renormalization, and excitonic enhancement within the Hartree-Fock approximation. For a well depth of congruent-to 40 meV, which is a typical value for intermixed GaAs/AlGaAs quantum well wires, the line shape of the quantum wire absorption spectrum is shown to be strongly influenced by the presence of lateral barrier states for all plasma densities.