Action of an electric field on the photoelastic properties of piezoelectric superlattices in the band-band-resonance region

An analytical expression is derived for the permittivity and the linear photoelasticity coefficient at light frequencies close to the band-band resonance in piezoelectric superlattices in an electric field. It is shown that, when an electric field is applied to the superlattice, the photoelasticity coefficient becomes dependent not only on the superlattice period but also on the width of the quantum well. This demonstrates a new mechanism of linear photoelasticity stimulated by an electric field applied to a piezoelectric superlattice. It is shown that acousto-optical control of light close to a band-band resonance is possible in piezoelectric superlattices with a small strain potential. (C) 2006 Optical Society of America.