Terahertz optics of semiconductor nanostructures near and far from equilibrium

In semiconductor nanostructures a few tens of nanometers wide, the separation between quantized states, or subbands, can be a few terahertz. In the past year, a consistent experimental picture of intersubband relaxation in wide, doped quantum wells has emerged. Terahertz radiation has also been found to dramatically alter the emission and absorption of semiconductor nanostructures near their band-edges.