Two-color coherent control of optical bistability in asymmetric semiconductor quantum wells

We investigate optical bistability in intersubband transitions of an asymmetric semiconductor quantum well structure that has equidistant transitions between three subbands of the system and is placed in a unidirectional cavity. The system is simultaneously coupled by a fundamental field and its second harmonic. The second harmonic field acts as a control field and significantly influences the optical bistability. In addition, the two-color coherent control of optical bistability by the relative phase of the fundamental and the second harmonic fields is shown. The influence of the electronic cooperation parameter on the OB behavior is also discussed. This investigation may be used for optimizing and controlling the optical switching process in the SQW solid-state system, which is much more practical than that in the atomic system because of its flexible design and the controllable interference strength.