Direct observation of Gamma - X energy spectrum transition in narrow AlAs quantum wells

Spectra of magnetoplasma excitations have been investigated in a two-dimensional electron systems in AlAs quantum wells (QWs) of different widths. The magnetoplasma spectrum have been found to change profoundly when the quantum well width became thinner than $5.5$~nm, indicating a drastic change in the conduction electron energy spectrum. The transformation can be interpreted in terms of transition from the in-plane strongly anisotropic $X_x - X_y$ valley occupation to the out-of-plane isotropic $X_z$ valley in the QW plane. Strong enhancement of the cyclotron effective mass over the band value in narrow AlAs QWs is reported.