Hole spin-relaxation in quantum wells from saturation of inter-subband absorption

Spin-sensitive saturation of absorption of infrared radiation has been investigated in p-type GaAs QWs. It is shown that the absorption saturation of circularly polarized radiation is mostly controlled by the spin relaxation time of the holes. The saturation behavior has been investigated for different QW widths and in dependence on the temperature with the result that the saturation intensity substantially decreases with smaller QW width. Spin relaxation times were experimentally obtained by making use of calculated (linear) absorption coefficients for inter-subband transitions. The question of selection rules for intersubband transitions between hole subbands is addressed.