Wannier-Stark resonances in semiconductor superlattices -: art. no. 115302

Wannier-Stark states for semiconductor superlattices in strong static fields, where the interband Landau-Zener tunneling cannot be neglected, are rigorously calculated. The lifetime of these metastable states was found to show multiscale oscillations as a function of the static field, which is explained by an interaction with above-barrier resonances. An equation, expressing the absorption spectrum of semiconductor superlattices in terms of the resonance Wannier-Stark states, is obtained and used to calculate the absorption spectrum in the region of high static fields.