Optical probing of ultrafast electronic decay in Bi and Sb with slow phonons

Li, J. J.; Chen, J.; Reis, David A.; Fahy, Stephen B.; Merlin, Roberto

Optical probing of ultrafast electronic decay in Bi and Sb with slow phonons

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Published Version

Date

2013

Authors

Li, J. J.

Chen, J.

Reis, David A.

Fahy, Stephen B.

Merlin, Roberto

Publisher

American Physical Society

Published Version

10.1103/PhysRevLett.110.047401

Abstract

Illumination with laser sources leads to the creation of excited electronic states of particular symmetries, which can drive isosymmetric vibrations. Here, we use a combination of ultrafast stimulated and cw spontaneous Raman scattering to determine the lifetime of A(1g) and E-g electronic coherences in Bi and Sb. Our results both shed new light on the mechanisms of coherent phonon generation and represent a novel way to probe extremely fast electron decoherence rates. The E-g state, resulting from an unequal distribution of carriers in three equivalent band regions, is extremely short lived. Consistent with theory, the lifetime of its associated driving force reaches values as small as 2 (6) fs for Bi (Sb) at 300 K. DOI: 10.1103/PhysRevLett.110.047401

Keywords

Coherent thz phonons , Displacive excitation , Light-pulses , Mechanism , Bismuth

Citation

Li, J. J., Chen, J., Reis, D. A., Fahy, S. and Merlin, R. (2013) 'Optical probing of ultrafast electronic decay in Bi and Sb with slow phonons', Physical Review Letters, 110(4), 047401 (5pp). doi: 10.1103/PhysRevLett.110.047401