Time-resolved, pulsed terahertz spectroscopy has developed into a powerful tool to study charge carrier dynamics in semiconductors and semiconductor structures over the past decades. Covering the energy range from a few to about 100 meV, terahertz radiation is sensitive to the response of charge quasiparticles, e.g., free carriers, polarons, and excitons. The distinct spectral signatures of these different quasiparticles in the THz range allow their discrimination and characterization using pulsed THz radiation. This frequency region is also well suited for the study of phonon resonances and intraband transitions in low-dimensional systems. Moreover, using a pump-probe scheme, it is possible to monitor the nonequilibrium time evolution of carriers and low-energy excitations with sub-ps time resolution. Being an all-optical technique, terahertz time-domain spectroscopy is contact-free and noninvasive and hence suited to probe the conductivity of, particularly, nanostructured materials that are difficult or impossible to access with other methods. The latest developments in the application of terahertz time-domain spectroscopy to bulk and nanostructured semiconductors are reviewed.

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Carrier dynamics in semiconductors studied with time-resolved terahertz spectroscopy

Wide-band-gap GaN and Ga-rich InGaN alloys, with energy gaps covering the blue and near-ultraviolet parts of the electromagnetic spectrum, are one group of the dominant materials for solid state lighting and lasing technologies and consequently, have been studied very well. Much less effort has been devoted to InN and In-rich InGaN alloys. A major breakthrough in 2002, stemming from much improved quality of InN films grown using molecular beam epitaxy, resulted in the bandgap of InN being revised from 1.9 eV to a much narrower value of 0.64 eV. This finding triggered a worldwide research thrust into the area of narrow-band-gap group-III nitrides. The low value of the InN bandgap provides a basis for a consistent description of the electronic structure of InGaN and InAlN alloys with all compositions. It extends the fundamental bandgap of the group III-nitride alloy system over a wider spectral region, ranging from the near infrared at ∼1.9 μm (0.64 eV for InN) to the ultraviolet at ∼0.36 μm (3.4 eV for GaN...

When group-III nitrides go infrared: New properties and perspectives

AlGaN-based materials own direct transition energy bands and wide bandgap and thus can be used in high-efficiency ultraviolet (UV) emitters and detectors. Over the past two decades, AlGaN-based materials and devices experienced rapid development. Deep ultraviolet AlGaN-based light-emitting diodes (LEDs) with improved efficiency of 20.3% (at 275 nm) have been produced. An electron beam (EB)-pumped AlGaN-based UV light source at 238 nm, output power of 100 mW, and power conversion efficiency (PCE) of 40% has also been fabricated. UV stimulated emission from AlGaN multiple-quantum-wells laser diodes (LDs) using electrical pumping at room temperature has also been achieved at a wavelength of 336 nm. Compared with GaN-based blue and green LEDs and LDs, the efficiency of AlGaN-based UV LEDs and LDs is lower. Further optimization and improvements in both structure and fabrication are required to realize high-performance devices. In AlGaN-based UV photodetectors (PDs), gain as high as 104 orders of magnitude has been reported using the separated absorption and multiplication region avalanche photodiode structure but is still far from detecting the weak signal, and thus UV single-photon detectors with high detectivity is challenging. Recently, there has been extensive work in the nonlinear optical properties of AlGaN and AlGaN-based passive devices, such as waveguides and resonators. However, how to minimize the scattering and defect-related absorption needs to be further studied. In this review, first, approaches used to grow an AlGaN epilayer and p-type doping are introduced. Second, progress in AlGaN-based UV LEDs, EB-pumped light sources, LDs, PDs, passive devices, and the nonlinear optical properties are presented. Finally, an overview of potential future trends in AlGaN-based materials and UV devices is given.

AlGaN photonics: recent advances in materials and ultraviolet devices

Bibliometric data set the scene by illustrating the growth of terahertz work and the present interest in terahertz science and technology. After locating terahertz sources within the broader context of terahertz systems, an overview is given of the range of available sources, emphasizing recent developments. The focus then narrows to terahertz sources that rely on surface phenomena. Three are highlighted. Optical rectification, usually thought of as a bulk process, may in addition exhibit a surface contribution, which, in some cases, predominates. Transient surface currents, for convenience often separated into drift and diffusion currents, are well understood according to Monte Carlo modelling. Finally, terahertz surface emission by mechanical means—in the absence of photoexcitation—is described.

https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/0022-3727/47/37/374001/pdf

A review of terahertz sources

We study optical effects and factors limiting performance of our confirmed 16.8% efficiency “black silicon” solar cells. The cells incorporate density-graded nanoporous surface layers made by a one-step nanoparticle-catalyzed etch and reflect less than 3% of the solar spectrum, with no conventional antireflection coating. The cells are limited by recombination in the nanoporous layer which decreases short-wavelength spectral response. The optimum density-graded layer depth is then a compromise between reflectance reduction and recombination loss. Finally, we propose universal design rules for high-efficiency solar cells based on density-graded surfaces.

http://chglib.icp.ac.ru/subjex/2012/pdf09/AplPhysLet-2009-95(12)123501.pdf

Efficient black silicon solar cell with a density-graded nanoporous surface: Optical properties, performance limitations, and design rules

GaBiAs layers have been grown by molecular beam epitaxy at low (270–330°C) temperatures and were characterized by several experimental techniques. It was shown that the spectral photosensitivity cutoff wavelength reaches ∼1.4μm when the growth temperature is as low as 280°C. Optical pump–terahertz probe measurements made on these layers have evidenced that the electron trapping time decreases with decreasing growth temperature from 20 to about 1ps. GaBiAs layers were used for manufacturing photoconductive terahertz emitters and detectors, which, when excited with Ti:sapphire laser pulses, have demonstrated a signal bandwidth of 3THz.

GaBiAs: A material for optoelectronic terahertz devices

We describe a terahertz time-domain-spectroscopy system that is based on photoconductive components fabricated from low-temperature-grown GaBiAs epitaxial layers and activated by femtosecond 103 μm pulses emitted by an Yb:fiber laser Experiments performed with the laser pulses of different durations have evidenced that the spectral range of the system is limited by the photoexcited carrier lifetime The optical to terahertz conversion efficiency of the system exceeds 10−4 with the usable spectral range of about 3 THz in the case of 170 fs excitation pulses

Terahertz time-domain-spectroscopy system based on femtosecond Yb:fiber laser and GaBiAs photoconducting components

Efficiency improvement by porous silicon coating of multicrystalline solar cells

Single- and multi-quantum well (QW) structures of Ga(AsBi)/GaAs with up to 10% Bi were grown by molecular beam epitaxy (MBE) at 300–330°C substrate temperature. The photoluminesce measurements of QW structures demonstrated room temperature emission up to wavelengths of ∼1.43 μm. In the structures obtained using a combined growth approach – an active layer with three QWs with ∼6% Bi was grown by MBE, whereas (AlGa)As claddings were grown by the metal organic vapour phase epitaxy technique – room temperature lasing at 1060 nm was documented.

Multi-quantum well Ga(AsBi)/GaAs laser diodes with more than 6% of bismuth

GaBiAs layers with Bi content reaching 8.4% are grown by MBE technique at low temperatures. All layers were of p-type with carrier densities ranging from 3 × 1014 to 2 × 1015 cm−3 and resistivities exceeding 60 Ω cm. Energy bandgap of the gallium bismide alloys as determined from spectral measurements of the optical absorption, photoconductivity and photoluminescence decreases linearly with increasing Bi content. Optical pump–terahertz probe measurements made on these layers show that the carrier density dynamics is best described by a double-exponential decay. The shorter of the time constants corresponds to the electron trapping and the longer time constant corresponds to the trap emptying times. It has been found that the electron trapping cross-section is of the same order of magnitude as the corresponding parameter for As-antisite traps in LTG GaAs; therefore, it is reasonable to assume that As antisites play a significant role in carrier recombination processes in GaBiAs, too.

http://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/0268-1242/22/7/026/pdf

Vaidas Pačebutas

Papers

GaBiAs: A material for optoelectronic terahertz devices

Terahertz time-domain-spectroscopy system based on femtosecond Yb:fiber laser and GaBiAs photoconducting components

Efficiency improvement by porous silicon coating of multicrystalline solar cells

Multi-quantum well Ga(AsBi)/GaAs laser diodes with more than 6% of bismuth

Characterization of low-temperature molecular-beam-epitaxy grown GaBiAs layers