Intraband optical transitions of holes in strained SiGe quantum wells

Optical absorption spectra of polarized infrared radiation in $p$-type SiGe quantum-well structures have been investigated. Three types of structures with different magnitudes and signs of biaxial elastic strains have been studied. The light absorption factor has been found to double in the region of interband transitions under the in-plane tensile strain of the quantum-well heterojunction. The results are attributed to a change in the order of light- and heavy-hole bands caused by the tensile strain and to the formation of the ground state of charge carriers in the light-hole band.