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From Semiconductor to Metal in a Flash: Observing Ultrafast Laser-Induced Phase Transformations

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  10 February 2011

J. P. Callan ,
A. M.-T. Kim ,
L. Huangt ,
E. N. Glezer  and
E. Mazur
J. P. Callan
Affiliation:
Physics Department and Division of Engineering & Applied Sciences, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA 02138
A. M.-T. Kim
Affiliation:
Physics Department and Division of Engineering & Applied Sciences, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA 02138
L. Huangt
Affiliation:
Physics Department and Division of Engineering & Applied Sciences, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA 02138
E. N. Glezer
Affiliation:
Physics Department and Division of Engineering & Applied Sciences, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA 02138
E. Mazur
Affiliation:
Physics Department and Division of Engineering & Applied Sciences, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA 02138
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Abstract

We use a new broadband spectroscopic technique to measure ultrafast changes in the dielectric function of a material over the spectral range 1.5–3.5 eV following intense 70-fs laser excitation. The results reveal the nature of the phase transformations which occur in the material following excitation. We studied the response of GaAs and Si. For GaAs, there are three distinct regimes of behavior as the pump fluence is increased — lattice heating, lattice disordering, and a semiconductor-to-metal transition.

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References

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