The Green-function method was adopted to study magnetopolarons in lateral surface superlattices (LSSL’s), where lateral periodic potentials due to periodically structured interfaces are introduced into two-dimensional electronic systems. Numerical calculations were carried out for the energy dispersions of magnetopolarons in GaAs LSSL structures with periodic potentials along the lateral x direction, such as those produced by deposition of AlAs and GaAs fractional layers on (001) vicinal GaAs substrates. The degenerate magnetopolaron energy levels become dependent on the electron wave vector ${\mathit{k}}_{\mathit{y}}$ in the y direction, forming magnetopolaron bands. For weak magnetic field (${\mathrm{\omega }}_{\mathit{c}}$≪${\mathrm{\omega }}_{\mathrm{LO}}$), the effect of lateral periodic potentials on electron–LO-phonon interaction energies are negligible. The energy dispersions of magnetopolarons are determined mainly by the energy dispersions of free-electron Landau levels in LSSL’s. In the resonant region (${\mathrm{\omega }}_{\mathit{c}}$≊${\mathrm{\omega }}_{\mathrm{LO}}$), the effect of lateral periodic potentials on electron–LO-phonon interaction energies must be considered in order to obtain the correct magnetopolaron energy dispersions. The energy pinning level for the lowest branch of magnetopolaron energy levels is shifted to lower energy when compared with that in quantum wells with planar interfaces, which changes greatly the energy dispersions of magnetopolaron energy levels in the resonant region. New branches of magnetopolaron energy levels, not present in quantum wells with planar interfaces, were predicated in LSSL’s in the resonant region. The transition energies from magnetopolaron ground levels to excited levels form wide bands, which are expected to broaden greatly the cyclotron resonance absorption spectra of LSSL’s.

• Received 9 August 1993

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevB.49.2595