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Applied Physics Letters

Temperature dependence of the absorption saturation relaxation time in light- and heavy-ion-irradiated bulk GaAs

Juliette Mangeney, Nikolai M. Stelmakh, F. Aniel, P. Boucaud, Jean–Michel Lourtioz

Published Jun 24, 2002• 19 citations
Publisher

Abstract

The absorption saturation relaxation time in light- and heavy-ion-irradiated GaAs saturable absorbers has been measured as a function of the temperature in the range from 7 to 300 K. For both types of samples, the relaxation time is shorter than 4 ps at 7 K. A regular increase of this time with temperature is observed for light-ion-irradiated samples, a value of 9.5 ps being reached at room temperature. In contrast, an almost temperature-independent relaxation time is found for heavy-ion-irradiated samples. The results are interpreted on the basis of a simplified relaxation model accounting for capture and emission from defect levels. We suggest that light-ion irradiation creates shallow centers whereas heavy-ion irradiation creates deep centers.

DOI
10.1063/1.1489086

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We investigate spectral changes induced by high-power CO2laser radiation in the direct intervalence band absorption of p-type germanium. Using a model of inhomogeneously broadened two-level systems, we deduce a room-temperature saturation intensity of 4 MW/ cm2from published observations of saturation of this absorption. The applicability of the two-level model to transitions between two electronic bands is discussed. We relate the linear absorption coefficient to the saturation intensity and the effective population difference, where the latter is obtained in a spherical band approximation. The result yields a value of 0.55 ps for the geometric mean of the phase and energy relaxation times. The meaning of these times is explained for our system, and quantitative agreement is found with published data on optical and acoustical lattice scattering probabilities. Specifically, we find a very short phase relaxation time of 0.09 ps. This allows the prediction of a burnt-hole spectral width of 57 cm-1(HWHM) at small saturation. In a preliminary experiment, we have observed the modulation of a CW CO2laser beam by intense nanosecond pulses of a second CO2laser offset in frequency by up to 140 cm-1.
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Secondary emission from GaAs quantum wells following resonant pulsed excitation is studied in the time domain. Selective excitation of heavy- and light-hole excitons is accomplished in a two-pulse excitation experiment which preserves sub-ps time resolution. After the initial rise the emission decays exponentially at a fast rate and then with another much slower exponential decay at longer times. The variations in the initial decay times with excitation density and sample temperature are similar to the variation in dephasing rates measured in four-wave mixing experiments. The decay in the visibility of heavy- and light-hole exciton beating is consistent with the decay rates measured for both species separately.
Time-resolved excite-probe measurements were performed on GaAs multiple quantum wells to determine the spin relaxation time as a function of well width (L) at room temperature, and as a function of temperature in the range of 10 to 150 K. These studies suggest that the room temperature spin relaxation time follows an exponential well width dependence, indicating that at room temperature spin flip is dominated by a combination of the D'Yakonov-Perel and the Bir-Aronov-Pikus mechanisms. The low temperature results suggest that a different mechanism, the exchange interaction, is dominant at low temperatures.
We have investigated intersubband absorptions between the conduction ground state and the first excited state of two AlxGa1−xAs/GaAs/AlxGa1−xAs multiple quantum well structures with x=0.3 and 85 Å well width, and with x=0.57 and 96 Å well width. Small-signal measurements show absorption peaks at 10.45 and 10.15 μm, respectively. Under an intense resonant excitation from a pulsed CO2 laser, saturation of the intersubband absorption occurred. The saturation intensity is estimated to be 340±120 kW/cm2 for the first sample and 375±120 kW/cm2 for the second. From these values, we have deduced subband decay times of the order of 10.6±3.5 ps for the first sample and 15.5±5 ps for the second.
In this paper, prospects of using diamond with NV− centers as a gain medium have been studied. Spectroscopic characterization of NV− centers in diamond as well as absorption saturation and pump-probe experiments have been carried out. Absorption and emission cross-sections were estimated to be 2.8 × 10-17 cm2 and 4.3 × 10-17 cm2 at the maximum of absorption and emission bands, respectively. It was observed from emission spectra under pulse excitation that some NV− are photoionized to NV0 centers with ZPL at 575 nm. Room temperature luminescence lifetime of NV− centers was measured to be 12ns, which is close to the previously reported lifetime in bulk diamond (~13ns). Saturated transmission was only about 11% of calculated values even at energy fluence much higher than the saturation flux. Two excited state absorptions (ESAs) with different relaxation times (“fast-decay” and “slow-decay with relaxation times of ~500 ns and several tens of microseconds, respectively) were revealed in transmission decay kinetics at 632 nm. Kinetics of transmission at 670 nm was dominated by “slow-decay” ESA process. Kinetics of dk/k0 in shorter wavelength were strongly dominated by “fast-decay” ESA process. These results definitively indicate that stimulated emission of NV− centers is suppressed by photoionization and ESAs and the possibility of diamond lasers based on NV− centers is low.