Published online by Cambridge University Press: 26 February 2011
A staircase structure reflecting quantum-size effect has been observed in differential optical absorption spectra in a-Si:H/a-SiC:H multilayer and a-Si:H ultrathin single layer. The threshold energies for the identified subband transition are found to be consistent with those expected from one-dimensional quantum-well model involving a conservation rule for the subband index. The experimental approaches introduced here will open up new possibilities for investigating the quantized band structure as well as for establishing the design concept of functional elements based on quantum size effects.