Free carrier absorption in n-type CdTe

Experimental results for free carrier absorption at room temperature in lightly doped samples of n-type CdTe, including the λ³ dependence of the absorption coefficient on the photon wavelength, can be satisfactorily accounted for in terms of polar optical mode scattering with a very small contribution by impurity scattering. Use is made of the quantum theory of free carrier absorption initially developed for direct gap III–V semiconducting compounds, which utilizes the Kane band structure and includes nonparabolicity, arbitrary spin-orbit splitting values, overlap wave function factors, and intermediate states in other bands.     

EFFECTS OF BANDGAP SHRINKAGE IN FEMTOSECOND ABSORPTION SATURATION MEASUREMENTS OF GaAs FILM

Using CPM dye laser and self-mode-locked Ti sapphire laser as pump-probe optical sources, the effects of bandfilling and bandgap shrinkage on the femtosecond absorption saturation spectra of GaAs film have been studied, For exciting photon energy of 1.97eV and carrier density of 1×10¹⁸cm^-3, an optical-induced absorption increase is observed and is attributed to bandgap shrinkage, The dependence of the absorption coefficient change on the carrier temperature and the carrier densities is discussed.     

Measurement of nonlinear absorption coefficients in GaAs, InP and Si by an optical pump THz probe technique

An optical pump terahertz (THz) probe method for measuring carrier mobility and multiphoton absorption coefficients in semiconductors is demonstrated. A THz probe pulse is used to detect the transient photoconductivity generated by an optical pump pulse. The change in transmission coefficient at THz frequencies due to a pump pulse with photon energy greater than the band gap energy is used to determine the sum of electron and hole mobilities. The weak nonlinear absorption of a pump pulse with photon energy less than the band gap energy produces an approximately uniform free carrier distribution. The THz transmission coefficient vs. pump fluence, and the mobility, are used in a bulk photoconductivity model to determine the multiphoton absorption coefficients. For GaAs, InP and Si we find two photon absorption coefficients at 1305 nm of 42.5 ± 11, 70 ± 18 and 3.3 ± 0.9 cm/GW, respectively. For GaAs and InP we determine three photon absorption coefficients at 2144 nm of 0.19 ± 0.07 and 0.22 ± 0.08 cm³/GW².     

Optical characterization of laser-induced crystallized silicon films

Optical absorption coefficient spectra of thin silicon films were precisely investigated using a simple reflectance system with total reflectance mirrors placed on the rear side of samples in order to cancel an interference effect in a range between 1.1 eV and 3 eV. The absorption coefficient decreased according to crystallization as the laser energy increased and it got similar to that of single crystalline silicon in the range of 1.7 eV 3 eV. However, the absorption coefficient was higher than 10² cm^–1 in the photon energy lower than 1.3 eV. This probably results from band tail states caused by defect states localized at grain boundaries in the crystallized films. 2.5%-phosphorus doped laser crystallized silicon films had a high optical absorption coefficient ( > 10⁴ cm^–1) in the low photon energy range (1.1 eV 1.7 eV) caused by free carriers produced from the dopant atoms activated in the silicon films. The experimental results gave the carrier density of 1.3 × 10²¹ cm³ and the carrier mobility of 20 cm²/Vs.     

The absorption edge of amorphous As2S3

The absorption constantK of amorphous As₂S₃ was determined at the absorption edge in the range 1 to 10⁵ cm^–1. It is shown that at low energy levels up to about 10³ cm^–1 K depends exponentially on the photon energy; at higher absorption levels the energy dependence ofK is quadratic. The significance of these results is discussed. When sulphur is added to As₂S₃ the absorption edge has similar properties but is shifted towards lower energies.     

Evaluation of the dosimetric characteristics of a radiophotoluminescent glass dosimeter for high-energy photon and electron beams in the field of radiotherapy

We aimed to evaluate the suitability of a glass dosimeter (GD) for high-energy photon and electron beams in experimental and clinical use, especially for radiation therapy. We examined the expanded dosimetric characteristics of GDs including dose linearity up to 500 Gy, uniformity among GD lots and for individual GDs, the angular dependence, and energy dependence of 4 therapeutic x-ray qualities. In addition, we measured the dosimetric features (dose linearity, uniformity, angular dependence, and energy dependence) of the GD for electron beams of 10 different electron energy qualities. All measurements with the exception of dose linearity for photon beam were performed in a water phantom. For high-energy photon beams, dose linearity has a linear relationship for a dose ranging from 1 to 500 Gy with the coefficient of determination; R² of 0.998. The uniformity of each GD of dose measurements was within ±0.5% for four GD lots and within ±1.2% for 80 GDs. In terms of the effects of photon beam angle, lower absorbed doses of within 1.0% were observed between 60° and 105° than at 90°. The GD energy dependence of 4 photon beam energy qualities was within ±2.0%. On the other hand, the result of the dose linearity for high-energy electron beams showed well fitted regression line with the coefficient of determination; R² of 0.999 between 6 and 20 MeV. The uniformity of GDs exposed to the nominal electron energies 6, 9, 12, 16, and 20 MeV was ±1.2%. In terms of the angular dependence to electron beams, absorbed doses were within 2.0% between 60° and 105° than at 90°. In evaluation of the energy dependence of the GD at nominal electron energies between 5 and 20 MeV, we obtained responses between 1.1% and 3.5% lower than that for a cobalt-60 beam. Our results show that GDs can be used as a detector for determining doses when a high-energy photon beam is used, and that it also has considerable potential for dose measurement of high-energy electron beam.     

Optical properties and interband transitions in the layered compounds SbI3

The optical constants of SbI₃ single crystals, prepared from solution, were calculated from normal incidence reflectance data via a Kramers-Kronig analysis. The dependence of the absorption coefficient on the photon energy suggests the presence of a direct allowed interband transition whereE _g ^d =2·225 eV at room temperature, as well as indirect phonon-assisted transition. The absorption coefficient follows Urbach's empirical relation in the range 2·08–2·34 eV near the intrinsic edge, and a Gaussian shape was obtained near the band maximum. This behaviour is indicative of its excitonic origin and may be contributed to localized excitons in the crystal.     

Optoelectrical investigations on MOS-sandwiches at low temperatures

MOS-structures are irradiated with light of energy from 1.5 to 6 eV at different temperatures (300, 77, 12 K) while the resulting photocurrent is measured. At high photon energies (hv>4 eV) the threshold energy and the scattering mean free path for electrons at the Si — SiO₂-interface are determined. They are independent from temperature. At low photon energies (hv<3 eV) electrons are released from traps with energy levels 1.2 and 1.9 eV below the Si-conduction band. The trap concentration is 4.8 10¹³ cm^–3. The capture cross section is measured in a rather direct way. The temperature and electrical field dependence of this cross section is explained by a trapping model.     

Changes in optical absorption in iron garnet films due to impurity incorporation

The incorporation of impurities in films of Bi-substituted iron garnets grown by liquid phase epitaxy has been studied by successively adding small amounts of SiO₂ and CaCO₃ to the melt before film growth. It is found that very small additions of CaCO₃ to the melt profoundly influences the optical absorption coefficient and the electrical properties. The impurity absorption ofn-type YIG doped with Si⁴⁺ and Pb²⁺ ions is investigated and its wavelength dependence compared to that ofp-type YIG. The optical transitions involved in the impurity absorption of iron garnets are discussed in terms of transition reaction, photon energy and dependence on the impurity concentration. Depending on the photon energy, one or several transitions may give rise to impurity absorption.     

Free carrier absorption in quantizing magnetic fields: Nonpolar optical phonon scattering

A quantum theory of free carrier absorption in nondegenerate semiconductors and in strong magnetic fields which was previously developed to treat the case when acoustic phonon scattering dominates the free carrier absorption process [1] is extended to treat the case when nonpolar optical scattering is important. When the electromagnetic radiation field is polarized parallel to the direction of the applied magnetic field, results are obtained which are similar to those when acoustic phonon scattering is dominant. The free carrier absorption is an oscillatory function of the magnetic field which on the average increases in magnitude with the magnetic field. However, more structure in the free carrier absorption occurs when nonpolar optical phonon scattering dominates. This is due to the fact that there are two periods in the oscillatory magnetic field dependence associated with the emission or the absorption of optical phonons during the intraband transitions. When the cyclotron frequency exceeds the sum of the photon and optical phonon frequencies, i.e. ω_c > θ + ω_o, the free carrier absorption is predicted to increase linearly with magnetic field when ?ω_c? k_BT. The magnetic field dependence of the free carrier absorption can be explained in terms of phonon-assisted transitions between the various Landau levels in a band involving the emission and absorption of optical phonons.     

Optical absorption studies of copper phthalocyanine thin films

The optical absorption of thermally evaporated copper phthalocyanine (CuPc) was studied in the UV-VIS-NIR region. The absorption spectra recorded in the UV-VIS region show two well-defined absorption bands of the phthalocyanine molecules, namely, the Soret (B) and the Q-band . The Q-band shows its characteristic splitting (Davydov splitting) of the main absorption peak in the metal phthalocyanine correlates with the relative tendencies of the metal to out-of-plane bonding. Some of the important spectral characteristics such as the molar extinction coefficient (ε_molar), the oscillator strength (f), the electric dipole strength (q²) and absorption half-bandwidth (Δλ) of the principle optical transitions were evaluated. The analysis of the spectral behavior of the absorption coefficient α in the absorption region revealed two indirect allowed transitions with corresponding energies 2.95±0.03 and 1.55±0.02 eV.The spectra of the infrared absorption allow characterization of vibration modes for the powder, as-deposited material and thin films of CuPc annealed at 423 K for two hours. Discussion of the obtained results and their comparison with the previous published data are also given.     

Anomalous changes in the properties of tellurium-doped indium arsenide single crystals

The change in the main parameters of indium arsenide with the introduction of tellurium is considered from weak doping to concentrations corresponding to the solubility limit. Analysis of the experimental data shows that the functional dependence on the electron density of the band gap width, the Fermi energy, the magnitude of background absorption, the parameter characteristic of the carrier scattering mechanism has a discontinuity at N=(3–5) · 10¹⁸ cm^–3. The observed phenomena are explained by the redistribution of component atoms of the system between sublattices with the formation of an ordered phase.Translated from Izvestiya Vysshikh Uchebnykh Zavedenii, Fizika, No. 5, pp. 51–57, May, 1984.     

Nonlinear optical properties of Cu nanocluster composite fabricated by 180 keV ion implantation

Metal nanocluster composite glass prepared by 180 keV Cu ions into silica with dose of 5×10¹⁶ ions/cm² has been studied. The microstructural properties of the nanoclusters has been verified by optical absorption spectra and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). Third-order nonlinear optical properties of the nanoclusters were measured at 1064 and 532 nm excitations using Z-scan technique. The nonlinear refraction index, nonlinear absorption coefficient, and the real and imaginary parts of the third-order nonlinear susceptibility were deduced. Results of the investigation of nonlinear refraction by the off-axis Z-scan configuration were presented and the mechanisms responsible for the nonlinear response were discussed. Third-order nonlinear susceptibility χ⁽³⁾ of this kind of sample was determined to be 8.7×10⁻⁸ esu at 532 nm and 6.0×10⁻⁸ esu at 1064 nm, respectively.     

Optical properties of semiconducting iron disilicide thin films

The iron silicides samples were prepared by annealing of iron films evaporated onto silicon wafers and capped with amorphous silicon thin overlayers. Semiconducting FeSi₂ phase is formed by annealing at the temperatures from 550°C to 850°C. The optical properties of the FeSi₂ layers have been deduced from reflectance and transmittance measurements carried out in the temperature range of (77–380) K. The spectral dependence of the absorption coefficient favours direct allowed transitions with forbidden energy gap of 0.87eV at the room temperature. The application of a simple three-parameter semiempirical formula to the temperature dependence of the direct energy gaps leads to the following best fit parameters: the band gap at zero temperature E _g (0) = (0.895 ± 0.004)eV, the dimensionless coupling parameter S = 2.0 ± 0.3, and the average phonon energy <hw> = (46 ± 8)meV. By examining all the reported triplets of parameters for -FeSi₂ fabricated by different techniques and thermal processes, an obvious discrepancy can be found for the lattice coupling parameter and average phonon energy, although the bandgaps at 0 K are very similar. Unlike the theoretical prediction and the earlier reported result, our results do not show any evidence of a particularly strong electron-phonon interaction, which would give the lower carrier mobilities. -FeSi₂ seems to be an intriguing material where states with energies near the band edges permit ambiguous interpretation of the character of transitions. From optical model for the thin film-substrate system we found the index of refraction to be (5–5.9) in the photon energy interval from 0.65 to 1.15eV. There is also indication of an additional higher-energy absorption edge at l.05eV.     

Optoelectrical investigations on MOS-sandwiches at low temperatures

MOS-structures are irradiated with light of energy from 1.5 to 6 eV at different temperatures (300, 77, 12 K) while the resulting photocurrent is measured. At high photon energies (hv>4 eV) the threshold energy and the scattering mean free path for electrons at the Si — SiO₂-interface are determined. They are independent from temperature. At low photon energies (hv<3 ev)=" electrons=" are=" released=" from=" traps=" with=" energy=" levels=" 1.2=" and=" 1.9=" ev=" below=" the=" si-conduction=" band.=" the=" trap=" concentration=" is=" 4.8="> 10¹³ cm^–3. The capture cross section is measured in a rather direct way. The temperature and electrical field dependence of this cross section is explained by a trapping model.     

Self focusing of laser beams in a degenerate nonparabolic semiconductor: Kinetic approach

Using rigorous kinetic treatment the steady state self-focusing of laser beams in a degenerate nonparabolic semiconductor (e.g. n-InSb) has been investigated beyond the perturbation limit. The nonlinearity arises due to the energy dependence of the electron mass in the conduction band. The energy loss of electron energy is assumed to be due to polar optical phonons and momentum transfer due to ionised impurity scattering/polar optical phonon scattering. It is found that nonlinearity in the dielectric constant or the self-focusing is more pronounced in the case of ionised impurity case as compared to polar optical phonon case. The effect of absorption is to suppress the self-focusing but the latter is also enhanced by degeneracy.     

Measurement of thickness of a thin film by means of laser interference at many incident angles

An optical method for directly measuring the thickness of a thin transparent film has been proposed by means of multi-wave laser interference at many incident angles, and confirmed experimentally by means of equipment made on an experimental basis. Two methods are available: one can be used when an index of refraction of the film, a wavelength λ, and two successive angles of incidence at which the sinusoidal light intensity has minimum values, are known (Method I), and another can be used without an index of film refraction when three successive angles of incidence and a wavelength are known (Method II). The smallest measurable thickness is 1.43λ for Method I, and 2.5λ for Method II. The largest measurable thickness is about 100λ for both methods. The measurement error by means of numerical calculation is Δh/h−1.01×10⁻², and that obtained experimentally with an angular resolution of incident light of 0.3° is Δh/h7×10⁻² for Method I. The refractive index can also be measured by means of Method II.     

Phonon-Assisted Photoluminescence in a Spherical Nanocrystal

Using the matrix density in the representation of path integrals for an electron, the multiphoton nonlinear absorption light coefficient in the second order of interaction energy with polar optical phonons is derived. This coefficient describes any electron interaction mechanism with phonons. From the interaction mechanism, the main role is played by dimensional resonance when the electron continuously absorbs energy from the field as a result of synchronizing its oscillation with the field. This dimensional resonance is possible when the frequency characterizing the laser field is a multiple of the phonon frequency. Whether a photon is absorbed or emitted, the initial level from where the transition occurs defines the temperature dependence. The absorption spectrum has the form of stripes whose intensity depends on the resonance character. The most pronounced absorption is at the triple resonance, where values of radiation and oscillatory and optical phonon frequencies are equal. __________ Published in Zhurnal Prikladnoi Spektroskopii, Vol. 72, No. 5, pp. 654–659, September–October, 2005.     

Intersubband scattering of cold electrons in a coupled quantum well with subband spacing below

We report measurements of the intersubband scattering rate between the first and second subband in a quantum-well structure with subband spacing (11 meV) smaller than the optical phonon energy. We measure the electron population in the second subband under CW excitation by a far-infrared laser tuned to the intersubband absorption frequency. This allows us to determine the intersubband relaxation rate using detailed balance. These measurements are novel because they are performed at very low excitation densities (I10 μW/cm²). In this regime the heating of the electron gas is negligible, so that the optically excited population in the upper subband greatly exceeds any thermal population induced by laser heating. Therefore, the relaxation rate we measure is controlled by intersubband scattering rather than carrier cooling. At low temperature we obtain an intersubband lifetime of which is power independent below 10⁻¹ W/cm², and approximately temperature independent for lattice temperatures between T=10 and 2.5 K.