The effect of resonant sublevel coupling on intersubband transitions in coupled double quantum wells

The effect of resonant sublevel coupling on intersubband transitions in double quantum wells is investigated using far-infrared spectroscopy. We study widely tuneable parabolic double quantum wells in which potential spikes of different energetic height and thickness provide tunnel barriers for the electron systems on either side of the barrier. The use of gate electrodes enables us to tune both the carrier densities as well as the respective sublevel spacings and allow for a manifold degeneracy scheme like in an artificial molecule where the atomic number of both partners can be intentionally changed. Depending on the actual experimental condition, we observe pronounced level anticrossings into a symmetric and antisymmetric state. This single-particle sublevel coupling manifests itself in a rich spectrum of the observed collective intersubband transitions which occur at the depolarization shifted intersubband energy.