Intense laser field effects on the linear and nonlinear optical properties in a semiconductor quantum wire with triangle cross section

•We study a quantum wire with triangle cross section under intense laser field.•The effective mass approximation and the finite element method are used.•Electronic states strongly depend on the laser field frequency and intensity.•Total absorption coefficient and refractive index are changed by the laser field.•Two polarizations of the pump light with respect to the laser field are discussed.

We study the laser field effects on the intersubband optical absorption and the refractive index changes in a GaAs/AlGaAs quantum wire with equilateral triangle cross section. The wire is under the action of a laser beam which is assumed to be non-resonant with the semiconductor structure and linearly polarized perpendicularly to the triangle side. In the effective mass approximation and for a finite potential barrier we calculate the subband states by using a finite element method. Linear, non linear and total absorption coefficients and refractive index changes are calculated as functions of the laser field for the allowed intersubband transitions. Two polarizations of the pump radiation, parallel and perpendicular to the laser field direction, are discussed.