Localized exciton-phonon complex as an intermediate state in light scattering

A $\text{sharp}$ LO-phonon replica of the first order Raman spectrum of (Ga_xIn_1-xP and Ga(As_1-xP_x) has been observed for the first time. The experiment shows strong resonance with varying incoming photon energy which only appears in the presence of alloying and disorder. The results can only be understood if the relevant resonant intermediate state is a localized sharp exciton strongly interacting with the LO-phonon system, i.e. a localized exciton-phonon complex. Under those conditions, a simple model yields a ratio of the two-phonon to one-phonon intensities which is given by straightforward Franck-Condon overlaps.     

GaP:N和GaAs1-xPx:中的束缚激子依赖于激子声子耦合的辐射复合的热猝灭

我们从实验中发现,在N掺杂的GaP和Ga(As,P)中,零声子辐射带与相应的声子伴带的热猝灭过程是不同的。声子伴带的热猝灭强烈地依赖于激子声子的耦合,呈现出一种相干的特性。     

3D-TEM characterization of nanometric objects

The increasing level of research that is nowadays performed on the nanoscale requires specific powerful tools to characterize objects on that scale. We demonstrate in this work the usefulness of three-dimensional transmission electron microscopy (3D-TEM) used in a quantitative way to image and characterize nanomaterials with complex structures and morphologies. The tomographic recording process is a powerful tool to improve the signal-to-noise ratio when imaging nano-objects that cannot strongly extinguish electrons and to clear up the ambiguity of image interpretation due to superposition effects. The resulting ability to distinguish between the “inner” and the “outer” parts of an object as well as to determine its 3D characteristics can in turn yield quantitative information and constitutes the main focus of this paper. Complex morphologies and internal structures on the nanometer scale can thus be resolved in all spatial dimensions, and numerical densities of particles or porosities can be quantified. For porous materials, it is also possible to get the connectivity of the pores, their shapes and distribution. The 3D-TEM technique associates tomographic recording to a careful repositioning of the recorded 2D images, followed by a 3D reconstruction. It allows the recovery of a spatial resolution close to (1.5 nm)³ that can be used to perform quantitative analysis relevant to almost all types of nanometric samples encountered when 3D information down to a few nanometers is required.     

Raman detection of phonon-phonon coupling in GaxIn1−xP

The coupling between the zone center phonons and continua has been observed and interpreted from the changes in the line shape of the TO Raman spectra and the existence of a side band on the low energy side of the LO phonon in mixed Ga_xIn_1?xP.     

Femtosecond measurements of the time of flight of photons in a three-dimensional photonic crystal

We report on experimental measurements of the propagation behavior of short optical pulses in a three-dimensional photonic crystal in the visible spectrum. The propagation delay of 70 fs light pulses transmitted through a sample of a fcc synthetic opal at frequencies lying in a photonic stop band was measured directly using a time-of-flight technique. Taking into account spectral reshaping of the transmitted pulses as well as the residual frequency chirp of the incoming pulses, it is found that the pulses significantly slow down at the photonic band edges.     

Template-directed self-organized silica beads on square and Penrose-like patterns

Since a decade photonic band gap research is expanding quickly and especially with self-assembled silica beads, called opals. However, a lot of problems are arising in their preparation, in particular the difficulty to produce large frequencies band gaps in common (periodic) silica photonic materials. To solve this problem quasiperiodic opals are known to be good candidates. Actually, the high degree of isotropy and the high homogeneity of Penrose tilings make them a good way to generate complete photonic band gaps. The aim of our group is to elaborate quasiperiodic photonic crystals by directed-assembly (dip-coating) on Penrose-like patterned surfaces (through electron beam lithography). We will briefly present the different elaboration steps of our opals. Thus, the patterning methods and the dip-coating system will be discussed with our recent results in dip-coated photonic crystals.