Intersubband absorption in AlN/GaN/AlGaN coupled quantum wells

AlN/GaN/AlGaN coupled quantum wells grown by molecular beam epitaxy have been developed and characterized via intersubband absorption spectroscopy. In these structures, an AlGaN layer of sufficiently low Al content is used to achieve strong interwell coupling without the need for ultrathin inner barriers. At the same time, AlN is used in the outer barriers to provide the large quantum confinement required for near-infrared intersubband transitions. The composition of the inner barriers also provides a continuously tunable parameter to control the coupling strength. Double intersubband absorption peaks are measured in each sample, at photon energies in good agreement with theoretical expectations. (C) 2007 American Institute of Physics.