arXiv subjects

G. D. Sanders

Publications and source records attributed to G. D. Sanders.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2016

Probing the semiconductor to semimetal transition in InAs/GaSb double quantum wells by magneto-infrared spectroscopy

We perform a magneto-infrared spectroscopy study of the semiconductor to semimetal transition of InAs/GaSb double quantum wells from the normal to the inverted state. We show that owing to the low carrier density of our samples (approaching the intrinsic limit), the magneto-absorption spectra evolve from a single cyclotron resonance peak in the normal state to multiple absorption peaks in the inverted state with distinct magnetic field dependence. Using an eight-band Pidgeon-Brown model, we explain all the major absorption peaks observed in our experiment. We demonstrate that the semiconductor to semimetal transition can be realized by manipulating the quantum confinement, the strain, and the magnetic field. Our work paves the way for band engineering of optimal InAs/GaSb structures for realizing novel topological states as well as for device applications in the terahertz regime.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2015

Theory of magneto-optical properties of core-shell spherical quantum dots doped with radial-position-controlled magnetic impurities

We present a theory for the electronic and magneto-optical properties of spherical quantum dots consisting of an inner core surrounded by an outer shell. This core-shell quantum dot is doped by magnetic Mn impurities all of which are implanted at a preselected radius on a spherical surface within the dot. The spherical symmetry of the dot is broken by the application of an external magnetic field. The electronic states in the presence of a magnetic field are treated in an effective mass model which includes the s-d and p-d exchange interaction with localized Mn d electrons. The strain in the quantum dot due to lattice mismatch between core and shell regions is assumed to be pseudomorphic and the effect of this strain field on the electronic states is also included. The optical properties of the quantum dot are computed using the effective mass electronic states and Fermi's golden rule.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2014

Origin of coherent G band phonon spectra in single wall carbon nanotubes

Coherent phonons in single wall carbon nanotubes (SWNTs) are observed as oscillations of the differential absorption coefficient as a function of time by means of pump-probe spectroscopy. For the radial breathing mode (RBM) of a SWNT, the coherent phonon signal is understood to be a result of the modulated diameter-dependent energy gaps due to the coherent RBM phonon oscillations. However, this mechanism might not be the dominant contribution to other phonon modes in the SWNT. In particular, for the G band phonons, which correspond to bond-stretching motions, we find that the modulation of the interatomic dipole matrix element gives rise to a strong coherent G band phonon intensity comparable to the coherent RBM phonon intensity. We also further discuss the dependence of coherent G band and RBM phonon amplitudes on the laser excitation pulse width.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2013

Ultrafast Generation of Fundamental and Multiple-order Phonon Excitations in Highly-Enriched (6,5) Single-Wall Carbon Nanotubes

Using a macroscopic ensemble of highly-enriched (6,5) single-wall carbon nanotubes, combined with high signal-to-noise ratio, time-dependent differential transmission spectroscopy, we have generated vibrational modes in an ultrawide spectral range (10-3000 cm^{-1}). A total of fourteen modes were clearly resolved and identified, including fundamental modes of A, E1, and E2 symmetries and their combinational modes involving two and three phonons. Through comparison with CW Raman spectra as well as calculations based on an extended tight-binding model, we were able to identify all the observed peaks and determine the frequencies of the individual and combined modes. We provide a full summary of phonon frequencies for (6,5) nanotubes that can serve as a basic reference with which to refine our understanding of nanotube phonon spectra as well as a testbed for new theoretical models.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2012

Coherent Phonons in Carbon Nanotubes and Graphene

We review recent studies of coherent phonons (CPs) corresponding to the radial breathing mode (RBM) and G-mode in single-wall carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) and graphene. Because of the bandgap-diameter relationship, RBM-CPs cause bandgap oscillations in SWCNTs, modulating interband transitions at terahertz frequencies. Interband resonances enhance CP signals, allowing for chirality determination. Using pulse shaping, one can selectively excite speci!c-chirality SWCNTs within an ensemble. G-mode CPs exhibit temperature-dependent dephasing via interaction with RBM phonons. Our microscopic theory derives a driven oscillator equation with a density-dependent driving term, which correctly predicts CP trends within and between (2n+m) families. We also find that the diameter can initially increase or decrease. Finally, we theoretically study the radial breathing like mode in graphene nanoribbons. For excitation near the absorption edge, the driving term is much larger for zigzag nanoribbons. We also explain how the armchair nanoribbon width changes in response to laser excitation.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2012

Coherent radial breathing like phonons in graphene nanoribbons

We have developed a microscopic theory for the generation and detection of coherent phonons in armchair and zigzag carbon nanoribbons using an extended tight-binding model for the electronic states and a valence force field model for the phonons. The coherent phonon amplitudes satisfy a driven oscillator equation with the driving term depending on photoexcited carrier density. We examine the coherent phonon radial breathing like mode amplitudes as a function of excitation energies and nanoribbon types. For photoexcitation near the optical absorption edge the coherent phonon driving term for the radial breathing like mode is much larger for zigzag nanoribbons where transitions between localized edge states provide the dominant contribution to the coherent phonon driving term. Using an effective mass theory, we explain how the armchair nanoribbon width changes in response to laser excitation.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2011

Coherent Phonon Dynamics in Short-Period InAs/GaSb Superlattices

We have performed ultrafast pump-probe spectroscopy studies on a series of InAs/GaSb-based short-period superlattice (SL) samples with periods ranging from 46 Åto 71 Å. We observe two types of oscillations in the differential reflectivity with fast ($\sim$ 1- 2 ps) and slow ($\sim$ 24 ps) periods. The period of the fast oscillations changes with the SL period and can be explained as coherent acoustic phonons generated from carriers photoexcited within the SL. This mode provides an accurate method for determining the SL period and assessing interface quality. The period of the slow mode depends on the wavelength of the probe pulse and can be understood as a propagating coherent phonon wavepacket modulating the reflectivity of the probe pulse as it travels from the surface into the sample.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2010

Polarization dependence of coherent phonon generation and detection in highly-aligned single-walled carbon nanotubes

We have investigated the polarization dependence of the generation and detection of radial breathing mode (RBM) coherent phonons (CP) in highly-aligned single-walled carbon nanotubes. Using polarization-dependent pump-probe differential-transmission spectroscopy, we measured RBM CPs as a function of angle for two different geometries. In Type I geometry, the pump and probe polarizations were fixed, and the sample orientation was rotated, whereas, in Type II geometry, the probe polarization and sample orientation were fixed, and the pump polarization was rotated. In both geometries, we observed a very nearly complete quenching of the RBM CPs when the pump polarization was perpendicular to the nanotubes. For both Type I and II geometries, we have developed a microscopic theoretical model to simulate CP generation and detection as a function of polarization angle and found that the CP signal decreases as the angle goes from 0 degrees (parallel to the tube) to 90 degrees (perpendicular to the tube). We compare theory with experiment in detail for RBM CPs created by pumping at the E44 optical transition in an ensemble of single-walled carbon nanotubes with a diameter distribution centered around 3 nm, taking into account realistic band structure and imperfect nanotube alignment in the sample.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2009

Resonant Coherent Phonon Spectroscopy of Single-Walled Carbon Nanotubes

Using femtosecond pump-probe spectroscopy with pulse shaping techniques, one can generate and detect coherent phonons in chirality-specific semiconducting single-walled carbon nanotubes. The signals are resonantly enhanced when the pump photon energy coincides with an interband exciton resonance, and analysis of such data provides a wealth of information on the chirality-dependence of light absorption, phonon generation, and phonon-induced band structure modulations. To explain our experimental results, we have developed a microscopic theory for the generation and detection of coherent phonons in single-walled carbon nanotubes using a tight-binding model for the electronic states and a valence force field model for the phonons. We find that the coherent phonon amplitudes satisfy a driven oscillator equation with the driving term depending on photoexcited carrier density. We compared our theoretical results with experimental results on mod 2 nanotubes and found that our model provides satisfactory overall trends in the relative strengths of the coherent phonon signal both within and between different mod 2 families. We also find that the coherent phonon intensities are considerably weaker in mod 1 nanotubes in comparison with mod~2 nanotubes, which is also in excellent agreement with experiment.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2008

Chirality-Selective Excitation of Coherent Phonons in Carbon Nanotubes

Using pre-designed trains of femtosecond optical pulses, we have selectively excited coherent phonons of the radial breathing mode of specific-chirality single-walled carbon nanotubes within an ensemble sample. By analyzing the initial phase of the phonon oscillations, we prove that the tube diameter initially increases in response to ultrafast photoexcitation. Furthermore, from excitation profiles, we demonstrate that an excitonic absorption peak of carbon nanotubes periodically oscillates as a function of time when the tube diameter undergoes radial breathing mode oscillations.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2006

Carrier dynamics and coherent acoustic phonons in nitride heterostructures

We model generation and propagation of coherent acoustic phonons in piezoelectric InGaN/GaN multi-quantum wells embedded in a \textit{pin} diode structure and compute the time resolved reflectivity signal in simulated pump-probe experiments. Carriers are created in the InGaN wells by ultrafast pumping below the GaN band gap and the dynamics of the photoexcited carriers is treated in a Boltzmann equation framework. Coherent acoustic phonons are generated in the quantum well via both deformation potential electron-phonon and piezoelectric electron-phonon interaction with photogenerated carriers, with the latter mechanism being the dominant one. Coherent longitudinal acoustic phonons propagate into the structure at the sound speed modifying the optical properties and giving rise to a giant oscillatory differential reflectivity signal. We demonstrate that coherent optical control of the differential reflectivity can be achieved using a delayed control pulse.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2005

Electronic states and cyclotron resonance in p-type InMnAs and InMnAs/(Al,Ga)Sb at ultrahigh magnetic fields

We present a theoretical and experimental study on electronic and magneto-optical properties of p-type paramagnetic InMnAs dilute magnetic semiconductor alloys and ferromagnetic p-type InMnAs/(Al,Ga)Sb thin films in ultrahigh (> 100 T) external magnetic fields \textbf{B}. We use an 8 band Pidgeon-Brown model generalized to include the wavevector dependence of the electronic states along B as well as s-d and p-d exchange interactions with localized Mn d-electrons. In paramagnetic p-InMnAs alloys, we compute the spin-dependent electronic structure as a function of Mn doping and examine how the valence band structure depends on parameters such as the sp-d exchange interaction strength and effective masses. The cyclotron resonance (CR) and magneto-optical properties of InMnAs are computed using Fermi's golden rule. In addition to finding strong CR for hole-active polarization in p-type InMnAs, we also find strong CR for electron-active polarization. The electron-active CR in the valence bands results from transitions between light and heavy hole Landau levels and is seen in experiments. In ferromagnetic p-InMnAs/(Al,Ga)Sb, two strong CR peaks are observed which shift with position and increase in strength as the Curie temperature is approached from above. This transition takes place well above the Curie temperature and can be attributed to the increase in magnetic ordering at low temperatures.

cond-mat.stat-mech↗

arXiv2005

Theory of carrier dynamics and time resolved reflectivity in InMnAs/GaSb heterostructures

We present detailed theoretical calculations of two color, time-resolved pump-probe differential reflectivity measurements. The experiments modeled were performed on InMnAs/GaSb heterostructures and showed pronounced oscillations in the differential reflectivity as well as a time-dependent background signal. Previously, we showed that the oscillations resulted from generation of coherent acoustic phonon wavepackets in the epilayer and were not associated with the ferromagnetism. Now we take into account not only the oscillations, but also the background signal which arises from photoexcited carrier effects. The two color pump-probe reflectivity experiments are modeled using a Boltzmann equation formalism. We include photogeneration of hot carriers in the InMnAs quantum well by a pump laser and their subsequent cooling and relaxation by emission of confined LO phonons. Recombination of electron-hole pairs via the Schockley-Read carrier trapping mechanism is included in a simple relaxation time approximation. The time resolved differential reflectivity in the heterostructure is obtained by solving Maxwell's equations and compared with experiment. Phase space filling, carrier capture and trapping, band-gap renormalization and induced absorption are all shown to influence the spectra.

cond-mat.stat-mech↗

arXiv2005

Propagating Coherent Acoustic Phonon Wavepackets in InMnAs/GaSb

We observe pronounced oscillations in the differential reflectivity of a ferromagnetic InMnAs/GaSb heterostructure using two-color pump-probe spectroscopy. Although originally thought to be associated with the ferromagnetism, our studies show that the oscillations instead result from changes in the position and frequency-dependent dielectric function due to the generation of coherent acoustic phonons in the ferromagnetic InMnAs layer and their subsequent propagation into the GaSb. Our theory accurately predicts the experimentally measured oscillation period and decay time as a function of probe wavelength.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2004

Dark-bright magneto-exciton mixing induced by Coulomb interaction in strained quantum wells

Coupled magneto-exciton states between allowed (`bright') and forbidden (`dark') transitions are found in absorption spectra of strained In$_{0.2}$Ga$_{0.8}$As/GaAs quantum wells with increasing magnetic field up to 30 T. We found large (~ 10 meV) energy splittings in the mixed states. The observed anticrossing behavior is independent of polarization, and sensitive only to the parity of the quantum confined states. Detailed experimental and theoretical investigations indicate that the excitonic Coulomb interaction rather than valence band complexity is responsible for the splittings. In addition, we determine the spin composition of the mixed states.

cond-mat.other↗

arXiv2004

Ultrahigh-Field Hole Cyclotron Resonance Absorption in InMnAs Films

We have carried out an ultrahigh-field cyclotron resonance study of p-type In1-xMnxAs films, with Mn composition x ranging from 0% to 2.5%, grown on GaAs by low-temperature molecular-beam epitaxy. Pulsed magnetic fields up to 500 T were used to make cyclotron resonance observable in these low-mobility samples. The clear observation of hole cyclotron resonance is direct evidence of the existence of a large number of itinerant, effective-mass-type holes rather than localized d-like holes. It further suggests that the p-d exchange mechanism is more favorable than the double exchange mechanism in this narrow gap InAs-based dilute magnetic semiconductor. In addition to the fundamental heavy-hole and light-hole cyclotron resonance absorption appearing near the high-magnetic-field quantum limit, we observed many inter-Landau-level absorption bands whose transition probabilities are stronglydependent on the sense of circular polarization of the incident light.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2003

Ultrafast spectroscopy of propagating coherent acoustic phonons in GaN/InGaN heterostructures

We show that large amplitude, coherent acoustic phonon wavepackets can be generated and detected in In$_x$Ga$_{1-x}$N/GaN epilayers and heterostructures in femtosecond pump-probe differential reflectivity experiments. The amplitude of the coherent phonon increases with increasing Indium fraction $x$ and unlike other coherent phonon oscillations, both \textit{amplitude} and \textit{period} are strong functions of the laser probe energy. The amplitude of the oscillation is substantially and almost instantaneously reduced when the wavepacket reaches a GaN-sapphire interface below the surface indicating that the phonon wavepackets are useful for imaging below the surface. A theoretical model is proposed which fits the experiments well and helps to deduce the strength of the phonon wavepackets. Our model shows that localized coherent phonon wavepackets are generated by the femtosecond pump laser in the epilayer near the surface. The wavepackets then propagate through a GaN layer changing the local index of refraction, primarily through the Franz-Keldysh effect, and as a result, modulate the reflectivity of the probe beam. Our model correctly predicts the experimental dependence on probe-wavelength as well as epilayer thickness.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2003

Determining carrier densities in InMnAs by cyclotron resonance

Accurate determination of carrier densities in ferromagnetic semiconductors by Hall measurements is hindered by the anomalous Hall effect, and thus alternative methods are being sought. Here, we propose that cyclotron resonance (CR) is an excellent method for carrier density determination for InMnAs-based magnetic structures. We develop a theory for electronic and magneto-optical properties in narrow gap InMnAs films and superlattices in ultrahigh magnetic fields oriented along [001]. In n-type InMnAs films and superlattices, we find that the e-active CR peak field is pinned at low electron densities and then begins to shift rapidly to higher fields above a critical electron concentration allowing the electron density to be accurately calibrated. In p-type InMnAs, we observe two h-active CR peaks due to heavy and light holes. The lineshapes depend on temperature and line broadening. The light hole CR requires higher hole densities and fields. Analyzing CR lineshapes in p-films and superlattices can help determine hole densities.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗