Generating and Using Terahertz Radiation to Explore Carrier Dynamics of Semiconductor and Metal Nanostructures PDF Download

Author: Andrew D. Jameson
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Metallic films
Languages : en
Pages : 137

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Book Description
In this thesis, I present studies in the field of terahertz (THz) spectroscopy. These studies are divided into three areas: Development of a narrowband THz source, the study of carrier transport in metal thin films, and the exploration of coherent dynamics of quasi-particles in semiconductor nanostructures with both broadband and narrowband THz sources. The narrowband THz source makes use of type II difference frequency generation (DFG) in a nonlinear crystal to generate THz waves. By using two linearly chirped, orthogonally polarized optical pulses to drive the DFG, we were able to produce a tunable source of strong, narrowband THz radiation. The broadband source makes use of optical rectification of an ultra-short optical pulse in a nonlinear crystal to generate a single-cycle THz pulse. Linear spectroscopic measurements were taken on NiTi-alloy thin films of various thicknesses and titanium concentrations with broadband THz pulses as well as THz power transmission measurements. By applying a combination of the Drude model and Fresnel thin-film coefficients, we were able to extract the DC resistivity of the NiTi-alloy thin films. Using the narrowband source of THz radiation, we explored the exciton dynamics of semiconductor quantum wells. These dynamics were made sense of by observing time-resolved transmission measurements and comparing them to theoretical calculations. By tuning the THz photon energy near exciton transition energies, we were able to observe extreme nonlinear optical transients including the onset of Rabi oscillations. Furthermore, we applied the broadband THz waves to quantum wells embedded in a microcavity, and time-resolved reflectivity measurements were taken. Many interesting nonlinear optical transients were observed, including interference effects between the modulated polariton states in the sample.

Author: Guillermo Carpintero
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons
ISBN: 1118920392
Category : Technology & Engineering
Languages : en
Pages : 426

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Book Description
Key advances in Semiconductor Terahertz (THz) Technology now promises important new applications enabling scientists and engineers to overcome the challenges of accessing the so-called "terahertz gap". This pioneering reference explains the fundamental methods and surveys innovative techniques in the generation, detection and processing of THz waves with solid-state devices, as well as illustrating their potential applications in security and telecommunications, among other fields. With contributions from leading experts, Semiconductor Terahertz Technology: Devices and Systems at Room Temperature Operation comprehensively and systematically covers semiconductor-based room temperature operating sources such as photomixers, THz antennas, radiation concepts and THz propagation as well as room-temperature operating THz detectors. The second part of the book focuses on applications such as the latest photonic and electronic THz systems as well as emerging THz technologies including: whispering gallery resonators, liquid crystals, metamaterials and graphene-based devices. This book will provide support for practicing researchers and professionals and will be an indispensable reference to graduate students in the field of THz technology. Key features: Includes crucial theoretical background sections to photomixers, photoconductive switches and electronic THz generation & detection. Provides an extensive overview of semiconductor-based THz sources and applications. Discusses vital technologies for affordable THz applications. Supports teaching and studying increasingly popular courses on semiconductor THz technology.

Author:
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Category :
Languages : en
Pages :

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Perhaps the most important aspect of contemporary condensed matter physics involves understanding strong Coulomb interactions between the large number of electrons in a solid. Electronic correlations lead to the emergence of new system properties, such as metal-insulator transitions, superconductivity, magneto-resistance, Bose-Einstein condensation, the formation of excitonic gases, or the integer and fractional Quantum Hall effects. The discovery of high-Tc superconductivity in particular was a watershed event, leading to dramatic experimental and theoretical advances in the field of correlated-electron systems. Such materials often exhibit competition between the charge, lattice, spin, and orbital degrees of freedom, whose cause-effect relationships are difficult to ascertain. Experimental insight into the properties of solids is traditionally obtained by time-averaged probes, which measure e.g., linear optical spectra, electrical conduction properties, or the occupied band structure in thermal equilibrium. Many novel physical properties arise from excitations out of the ground state into energetically higher states by thermal, optical, or electrical means. This leads to fundamental interactions between the system's constituents, such as electron-phonon and electron-electron interactions, which occur on ultrafast timescales. While these interactions underlie the physical properties of solids, they are often only indirectly inferred from time-averaged measurements. Time-resolved spectroscopy, consequently, is playing an ever increasing role to provide insight into light-matter interaction, microscopic processes, or cause-effect relationships that determine the physics of complex materials. In the past, experiments using visible and near-infrared femtosecond pulses have been extensively employed, e.g. to follow relaxation and dephasing processes in metals and semiconductors. However, many basic excitations in strongly-correlated electron systems and nanoscale materials occur at lower energies. The terahertz (THz) regime is particularly rich in such fundamental resonances. This includes ubiquitous lattice vibrations and low-energy collective oscillations of conduction charges. In nanoscale materials, band structure quantization also yields novel infrared and THz transitions, including intersubband absorption in quantum wells. The formation of excitons in turn leads to low-energy excitations analogous to inter-level transitions in atoms. In transition-metal oxides, fundamental excitation gaps arise from charge pairing into superconducting condensates and other correlated states. This motivates the use of ultrafast THz spectroscopy as a powerful tool to study light-matter interactions and microscopic processes in nanoscale and correlated-electron materials. A distinct advantage of coherent THz pulses is that the amplitude and phase of the electric field can be measured directly, as the THz fields are coherent with the fs pulses from which they are generated. Using THz time-domain spectroscopy (THz-TDS), both the real and imaginary parts of the response functions (such as the dielectric function) are obtained directly without the need for Kramers?Kronig transforms. The THz response can also be expressed in terms of absorption and refractive index, or as the optical conductivity. The optical conductivity describes the current response of a many-body system to an electric field, an ideal tool to study conducting systems. A second important advantage is the ultrafast time resolution that results from the short temporal duration of the THz time-domain sources. In particular, optical-pump THz-probe spectroscopy enables a delicate probe of the transient THz conductivity after optical photoexcitation. These experiments can provide insight into quasiparticle interactions, phase transitions, or nonequilibrium dynamics. In this chapter we will provide many such examples. Since THz spectroscopy of solids is a quickly expanding field.

Author: Kong-Thon Tsen
Publisher: CRC Press
ISBN: 1351836927
Category : Technology & Engineering
Languages : en
Pages : 241

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Book Description
The advent of the femto-second laser has enabled us to observe phenomena at the atomic timescale. One area to reap enormous benefits from this ability is ultrafast dynamics. Collecting the works of leading experts from around the globe, Non-Equilibrium Dynamics of Semiconductors and Nanostructures surveys recent developments in a variety of areas in ultrafast dynamics. In eight authoritative chapters illustrated by more than 150 figures, this book spans a broad range of new techniques and advances. It begins with a review of spin dynamics in a high-mobility two-dimensional electron gas, followed by the generation, propagation, and nonlinear properties of high-amplitude, ultrashort strain solitons in solids. The discussion then turns to nonlinear optical properties of nanoscale artificial dielectrics, optical properties of GaN self-assembled quantum dots, and optical studies of carrier dynamics and non-equilibrium optical phonons in nitride-based semiconductors. Rounding out the presentation, the book examines ultrafast non-equilibrium electron dynamics in metal nanoparticles, monochromatic acoustic phonons in GaAs, and electromagnetically induced transparency in semiconductor quantum wells. With its pedagogical approach and practical, up-to-date coverage, Non-Equilibrium Dynamics of Semiconductors and Nanostructures allows you to easily put the material into practice, whether you are a seasoned researcher or new to the field.

Author: Jared Ombiro Gwaro
Publisher: Cuvillier Verlag
ISBN: 3736960379
Category : Technology & Engineering
Languages : en
Pages : 126

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Book Description
Terahertz (THz) technology bears great potential in spectroscopy, imaging, material science, security screening and high-speed wireless communication. However, the generation of intensive, directional THz radiation has been difficult and the THz frequency range has long been considered the last final frontier of the electromagnetic spectrum. Recent advancement in optoelectronic terahertz generation techniques and high power electronic sources has helped to bridge the THz gap and has opened up a wealth of new applications for THz technology. However, there is still a major technical limitation in developing THz systems for mass markets, mainly due to the cost of THz hardware components including sources and detectors. In this regard, we investigated the use of semiconductor diode lasers as THz detectors as well as excitation sources for photomixers for THz generation. For THz detection, we investigated the interaction of semiconductor lasers with THz radiation. Intense THz radiation from different sources and at various frequencies was injected into the laser diode. The laser diode was operated in Littman configuration to ensure clean single mode operation in the near infrared. The charge carrier system in the semiconductor was expected to interact with the injected THz radiation and introduce nonlinear frequency mixing. This nonlinear mixing was to induce sidebands in the near infrared optical spectra and was to be analyzed with an optical spectrum analyzer. This may lead to the demonstration of a simple, cost effective and compact room temperature THz spectrometer since the distance between the emission line and the sidebands equals the incident THz frequency. Unfortunatly, due to unprecedented challenges the interaction of THz radiation with diode laser experiment was not successful. Another approach was to demonstrate a compact and cost effective THz source based on monolithic distributed Bragg reflector diode laser emitting two frequencies simulteneously. We successfully demonstrated 300 GHz continuous wave THz radiation, with fiber coupled ion implanted photoconductive antennas used as photomixing devices. The generated THz radiation was tunable via temperature adjustments and current injection. This approach provided a coarse tuning in the range of 286 GHz to 320 GHz. We successfully demonstrated its potential use in non-destructive plant moisture measurements of a leaf induced to drought stresses and for moisture monitoring in drying process of pieces of paper. Due to the fact that the tuning of the developed THz source was coarse, we proposed the use of a new diode which was electrically tunable for fine tuning of the generated THz frequency. The new diode offers optical beat signal adjustments via carrier injection to the DBR section using micro resistor heater integrated on top of the DBR segment. The optical beat tuning via carrier injection was fast and offers tuning which should be free from mode hopping. The injection current to the resistor heater can be adjusted between 0 to 350 mA, an optical beat adjustment of between 100 GHz-300 GHz was realized. This bandwidth was only limited with the overlap of the two modes at higher heater currents of 250 mA to 350 mA. THz radiation emission via photomixing in the range 100 GHz-300 GHz was successfully demonstrated, these results were in good agreement with the optical beat signal measurements. Finally, a simple spectrometer suitable for THz metrology measurements such as thickness determination of Polyethylene sample (PE) was realized and also its application in THz spectroscopy was demonstrated by the determination of the spectroscopic transmission characteristics of a THz filter. In summary, two compact THz sources emitting at 300 GHz were successfully demonstrated and this was a major milestone towards development of compact and cost effective THz system for mass market application.

Author: Andrew Stickel
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Gallium arsenide semiconductors
Languages : en
Pages : 160

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This dissertation is an exploration of the material response to Terahertz (THz) radiation. Specifically we will explore the ultrafast electron dynamics in the nonperturbative regime in semiconductors that have been patterned with nanoantenna arrays using broadband, high intensity, THz radiation. Three main semiconductor materials will be studied in this work. The first is VO2 which undergoes a phase transition from an insulator, when it is below 67° C, to a metal, when it is above 67° C. The second and third materials are Si and GaAs which are two of the most commonly used semiconductors. We study the insulator to metal transition (IMT) of VO2 and its response to high field THz radiation. The near room temperature IMT for VO2 makes it a very promising material for electrical and photonic applications. We demonstrate that with high field THz the IMT transition can be triggered. This transition is induced on a sub-cycle timescale. We also demonstrate a THz field dependent reduction in the transition temperature for the IMT when transitioning from both below T[subscript c] to above as well as from above T[subscript c] to below. This transition is not equal for the above and below cases and leads to a narrowing of the hysteresis curve of the IMT. The thin film Fresnel coefficients, along with a phenomenological model developed for the nanoantenna patterned VO2, are also used to calculate the sheet conductivity of the VO2 sample. We show, using this sheet conductivity and its relation to the band gap, that the bang gap in the insulating phase has a strong dependence on the incident THz radiation with larger fields reducing the band gap from 1.2 eV at low incident THz fields to 0.32 eV at high incident THz fields. The ultrafast, non-equilibrium, electron dynamics of GaAs and Si were also explored. GaAs and Si are the two most prevalent semiconductors in use today and with the decrease in size and increase in clock speeds of transistors a deep understanding of the ultrafast high field electron dynamics of these materials is of vital importance. Using THz time domain spectroscopy we investigate the transition rates of electrons excited by a 800 nm optical pump. We show that the optically induced transition for GaAs happens on a shorter timescale than that of Si. We also investigate the THz transmission dependence on the indecent THz field. We show that intense THz fields enhance the transmission through the sample. The increase in transmission is due to intervalley scattering which increases the effective mass of the electrons resulting in a decrease in the conductivity the sample.

Author: Susan L. Dexheimer
Publisher: CRC Press
ISBN: 142000770X
Category : Technology & Engineering
Languages : en
Pages : 358

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Book Description
The development of new sources and methods in the terahertz spectral range has generated intense interest in terahertz spectroscopy and its application in an array of fields. Presenting state-of-the-art terahertz spectroscopic techniques, Terahertz Spectroscopy: Principles and Applications focuses on time-domain methods based on femtosecond laser sources and important recent applications in physics, materials science, chemistry, and biomedicine. The first section of the book examines instrumentation and methods for terahertz spectroscopy. It provides a comprehensive treatment of time-domain terahertz spectroscopic measurements, including methods for the generation and detection of terahertz radiation, methods for determining optical constants from time-domain measurements, and the use of femtosecond time-resolved techniques. The last two sections explore a variety of applications of terahertz spectroscopy in physics, materials science, chemistry, and biomedicine. With chapters contributed by leading experts in academia, industry, and research, this volume thoroughly discusses methods and applications, setting it apart from other recent books in this emerging terahertz field.

Author: Anatoliy Evtukh
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons
ISBN: 1119037964
Category : Technology & Engineering
Languages : en
Pages : 472

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Introducing up-to-date coverage of research in electron field emission from nanostructures, Vacuum Nanoelectronic Devices outlines the physics of quantum nanostructures, basic principles of electron field emission, and vacuum nanoelectronic devices operation, and offers as insight state-of-the-art and future researches and developments. This book also evaluates the results of research and development of novel quantum electron sources that will determine the future development of vacuum nanoelectronics. Further to this, the influence of quantum mechanical effects on high frequency vacuum nanoelectronic devices is also assessed. Key features: • In-depth description and analysis of the fundamentals of Quantum Electron effects in novel electron sources. • Comprehensive and up-to-date summary of the physics and technologies for THz sources for students of physical and engineering specialties and electronics engineers. • Unique coverage of quantum physical results for electron-field emission and novel electron sources with quantum effects, relevant for many applications such as electron microscopy, electron lithography, imaging and communication systems and signal processing. • New approaches for realization of electron sources with required and optimal parameters in electronic devices such as vacuum micro and nanoelectronics. This is an essential reference for researchers working in terahertz technology wanting to expand their knowledge of electron beam generation in vacuum and electron source quantum concepts. It is also valuable to advanced students in electronics engineering and physics who want to deepen their understanding of this topic. Ultimately, the progress of the quantum nanostructure theory and technology will promote the progress and development of electron sources as main part of vacuum macro-, micro- and nanoelectronics.

Author:
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Chemistry
Languages : en
Pages : 2540

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Author: Vladimir Mitin
Publisher: CRC Press
ISBN: 100058688X
Category : Medical
Languages : en
Pages : 917

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Book Description
Graphene demonstrates interesting electrical, optical, and optoelectronic properties. A number of other one-atom-thick material structures have been discovered and studied. Industrially applicable technologies for these structures are currently under active development. In spite of enormous research in the area of devices based on graphene, the number of extensive review publications on THz devices based on graphene is small. This review volume would fill the gap. Researchers and engineers working in the fields of electronics and plasmonics can use it to understand the influence of plasmonics on device performance. The book can be also be used as a required text for doctorate courses and as a supplementary material for postgraduate courses. The material presented in the book is reviewed in detail in Chapter 1. Chapter 2 discusses the electronic and plasmonic properties of graphene and heterostructures based on graphene for all devices. Chapters 3–7 focus on the concepts of detectors and emitters with a special emphasis on plasmonic enhancement of those devices as well as on population inversion and lasing.