Coherent optical and acoustic phonons generated at lattice-matched GaP/Si(001) heterointerfaces

TL;DR

This study investigates ultrafast electron-phonon interactions at GaP/Si heterointerfaces using all-optical pump-probe techniques, revealing coherent phonon generation, coupling effects, and potential opto-acoustic applications.

Contribution

It demonstrates the generation and modulation of coherent optical and acoustic phonons at GaP/Si interfaces, highlighting thickness-dependent coupling and the heterostructure's potential as an opto-acoustic transducer.

Findings

Coherent LO phonons are generated in GaP and Si upon excitation.

Coupling of LO phonons with plasma decreases with thinner GaP layers.

Strain pulses at the interface are stronger than at the surface, enabling transducer applications.

Abstract

Thin GaP films can be grown on an exact Si(001) substrate with nearly perfect lattice match. We perform all-optical pump-probe measurements to investigate the ultrafast electron-phonon coupling at the buried interface of GaP/Si. Above-bandgap excitation with a femtosecond laser pulse can induce coherent longitudinal optical (LO) phonons both in the GaP opverlayer and in the Si substrate. The coupling of the GaP LO phonons with photoexcited plasma is reduced significantly with decreasing the GaP layer thickness from 56 to 16 nm due to the quasi-two-dimensional confinement of the plasma. The same laser pulse can also generate coherent longitudinal acoustic (LA) phonons in the form of a strain pulse. The strain induces not only a periodic modulation in the optical reflectivity as they propagate in the semiconductors, but also a sharp spike when it arrives at the GaP layer boundaries. The acoustic pulse induced at the GaP/Si interface is remarkably stronger than that at the Si surface, suggesting a possible application of the GaP/Si heterostructure as an opto-acoustic transducer. The amplitude and the phase of the reflectivity modulation varies with the GaP layer thickness, which can be understood in terms of the interference caused by the multiple acoustic pulses generated at the top surface and at the buried interface.