The far-infrared (FIR) response of arrays of periodic single- and two-layered quantum wires has been investigated. The wire structures have been prepared by ultrafine deep-mesa etching of modulation-doped $\frac{{\mathrm{Al}}_x{\mathrm{Ga}}_{1-x}\mathrm{As}}{\mathrm{GaAs}}$ heterostructures and two-layered quantum-well systems. Due to narrow geometrical dimensions (500 nm), quantum confinement arises and leads to the formation of one-dimensional electronic subbands with a typical energy separation of 1-3 meV. The FIR transmission spectra of the single- and two-layered quantum wire structures show one and two resonances, respectively. The resonance frequencies are observed at significantly higher energies compared to the one-dimensional subband separation. This implies that collective interactions have a strong influence on the excited transitions and leads to the conclusion that the FIR resonances in the one-dimensional electronic systems have predominantly the character of layer-coupled local plasmon modes.

• Received 12 September 1988

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevB.38.12732