Theoretical description of coherent optical nonlinearities in semiconductor quantum wells

In order to optimize opto-electronic applications of semiconductor nanostructures, a deep understanding of optical nonlinearities is essential.One fundamental method currently used within this field of research is ultrafast optical spectroscopy.This work presents a theoretical study of optical nonlinearities in semiconductor quantum wells in the coherent time regime.The theory is based on the equations of motion for the coherent exciton and biexciton transition amplitudes.These equations are derived using two different ways: Heisenberg equations of motion in combination with the dynamics-controlled truncation theory and alternatively the non-equilibrium Green´s function technique. For the coherent regime both approaches are equivalent and can be used to formulate a coupled set of equations for the coherent excitation dynamics that is correct up to the third order in the optical field.In contrast to the dynamics-controlled truncation theory the non-equilibrium Green´s function technique allows the inclusion of incoherent scattering processes into the description.The theory is evaluated to describe pump and probe as well as four-wave-mixing experiments with ZnSe quantum wells.Numerical calculations for the coherent control of the macroscopic polarization andthe dependence of transient four-wave-mixing on the light-polarization and intensity are both in good agreement with experiments.In order to correctly describe elevated excitation conditions for the latter investigation, the theory is self-consistently extended such that the included excitonic and biexcitonic nonlinearities contribute up to arbitrary order in the optical field