Spin-dependent confinement in DMS-based heterostructures (invited)

We describe the results of a magneto-optical study of a class of semiconductor heterostructures in which one of the constituent layers is a diluted magnetic semiconductor (DMS). The large magnetic band splittings of DMS materials result in spin-dependent confining potentials for electrons and holes which can be changed externally by varying the applied magnetic field. The modifications in the band alignment result in changes, sometimes dramatic, of the optical properties in the vicinity of the band gap.