Giant Kerr nonlinearities and slow optical solitons in coupled double quantum-well nanostructure

a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t We investigate the enhancement of Kerr nonlinearities in an asymmetric coupled double quantum-well (CQW) by analyzing the nonlinear optical response. With the consideration of real parameters in AlGaAs-based CQWs, we indicate the possibility to obtain the giant Kerr nonlinearities with the cancellation of linear absorption simultaneously. We also reveal both analytically and numerically that under appropriate conditions a probe field with very low intensity can evolve into a stable shape-preserving waveform that propagates with a slow group velocity. The stability of such slow optical solitons is also demonstrated numerically.