Ultrafast dynamics of two-dimensional electron gas at Al2O3/SrTiO3 interface studied by surface terahertz spectroscopy

Abstract

Two-dimensional electron gas (2DEG) confined at the interface of SrTiO3-based heterostructure exhibits intriguing electronic and optoelectronic properties. In this work, we study the ultrafast dynamics of 2DEG at the Al2O3/SrTiO3 interface using surface-specific terahertz difference-frequency spectroscopy. Through proper polarization selection, we have resolved simultaneously the evolution of 2DEG confined in the quantum well and the surface potential after optical pump with different photon energies. The hot electrons excited from 2DEG with pump photon energy below the band gap relax to the ground state through two processes, a fast interfacial process associated with electron–electron and electron–phonon scattering on the order of tens of picoseconds and a slow surface-to-bulk transport on the order of hundreds of picoseconds. When the pump photon energy exceeds the bandgap, electrons are directly injected from the valence band to 2DEG at the interface and relax via electron–hole recombination in 3 ps. The recorded dynamic change of interfacial potential provides the key information to identify the drift and diffusion of photocarriers at the interface. Our results broaden the horizon of investigation on the comprehension of complex oxide interfaces and their photonics capabilities.