On the Theory of Brillouin Scattering in Piezoelectric Semiconductors with Acoustic Phonon-Conduction Electron Interaction

The theory of nonresonant Brillouin scattering in anisotropic piezoelectric semiconductors with deformation potential coupling and piezoelectric coupling between excited systems of acoustic phonons and conduction electrons is reviewed. The scattering efficiency is calculated using the appropriate dyadic electromagnetic GreeN′s function. The depletion of the scattered intensity arising from a non phase-matched scattering kinematics and from a spatial exponential decay of the sound amplitude is taken into account. The contributions to the Brillouin scattering from the free-carrier-screened indirect photoelastic effect and from the free-carrier density modulation are expressed in terms of the self-consistent electric field. This field is obtained from a Boltzmann-equation calculation of the effective ac conductivity tensor. The acoustic dispersion of the Brillouin-scattering efficiency is considered, and some possibilities of determining electronic transport properties by means of Brillouin scattering are outlined.