Oscillator strengths of interband magneto-optical transitions in strained-layer heterostructures

We show that, as a consequence of the strong mixing of the valence subbands, the evaluation of the oscillator strengths associated with the interband magneto-optical transitions is a prerequisite to the interpretation of magneto-optical data obtained in quantum-well structures. We illustrate this by examining the case of a GaSb/AlSb strained-layer superlattice in which the ground valence state is the first light-hole level. We show that in this sample, most of the observable heavy-hole-related transitions involve the second heavy-hole level, i.e. they correspond to a transition which is forbidden at zero magnetic field. © 1987.