Ultrafast dynamics of hot charge carriers in an oxide semiconductor probed by femtosecond spectroscopic ellipsometry

Abstract

Many linked processes occur concurrently in strongly excited semiconductors, such as interband and intraband absorption, scattering of electrons and holes by the heated lattice, Pauli blocking, bandgap renormalization and the formation of Mahan excitons. In this work, we disentangle their dynamics and contributions to the optical response of a ZnO thin film. Using our unique setup for broadband pump-probe ellipsometry, we directly and unambiguously obtain the real and imaginary part of the transient dielectric function which we compare with first-principles simulations. The interband and excitonic absorption are partially blocked and screened by the photo-excited electron occupation of the conduction band and hole occupation of the valence band. Simultaneously, intra-valence-band transitions occur at sub-picosecond time scales after holes scatter to the edge of the Brillouin zone. Our results pave new ways for the understanding of non-equilibrium charge-carrier dynamics in materials by reliably distinguishing between changes in absorption coefficient and refractive index, thereby separating competing processes. This information will help to overcome the limitations of materials for high-power optical devices that owe their properties from dynamics in the ultrafast regime.

Temperature-dependent photoluminescence in Ge: Experiment and theory

“…For states at the Γ-point of the BZ, Li et al have studied their broadening experimentally by monitoring the width of the direct gap exciton as a function of hydrostatic pressure [43]. Other experimental studies involve the time-resolved dynamics of electrons in the CB [42,[61][62][63]. Ab initio…”

Exciton control in a room temperature bulk semiconductor with coherent strain pulses

“…In the past, comparable or larger RT exciton shifts have been found only in low-dimensional semiconductors under the application of static stimuli, such as electric fields (26,27) and uniaxial strains of a few percent (28,29). This marked modulation of the exciton line shape cannot be solely related to the high carrier density photoexcited in the material (∼10 20 cm −3 ), because other highly excited bulk insulators hosting strongly bound excitons do not even display coherent acoustic phonon phenomena at similar excitation densities (30). In contrast, the observed dynamical renormalization of the RT excitonic properties in bulk anatase TiO 2 is a consequence of the strong exciton-acoustic phonon coupling in this material, which calls for a complete theoretical description.…”