Imaging carrier and phonon transport in Si using ultrashort optical pulses

A series of experiments have been conducted that microscopically image thermal diffusion and surface acoustic phonon propagation within a single crystallite of a polycrystalline Si sample. The experimental approach employs ultrashort optical pulses to generate an electron-hole plasma and a second probe pulse is used to image the evolution of the plasma. By decomposing the signal into a component that varies with delay time and a steady state component that varies with pump modulation frequency, the respective influence of carrier recombination and thermal diffusion are identified. Additionally, the coherent surface acoustic phonon component to the signal is imaged using a Sagnac interferometer to monitor optical phase.