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Nonequilibrium optical properties in semiconductors from first principles: A combined theoretical and experimental study of bulk silicon

Davide Sangalli, Stefano Dal Conte, Cristian Manzoni, Giulio Cerullo, and Andrea Marini
Phys. Rev. B 93, 195205 – Published 13 May 2016

Abstract

The calculation of the equilibrium optical properties of bulk silicon by using the Bethe-Salpeter equation solved in the Kohn-Sham basis represents a cornerstone in the development of an ab-initio approach to the optical and electronic properties of materials. Nevertheless, calculations of the transient optical spectrum using the same efficient and successful scheme are scarce. We report, here, a joint theoretical and experimental study of the transient reflectivity spectrum of bulk silicon. Femtosecond transient reflectivity is compared to a parameter-free calculation based on the nonequilibrium Bethe-Salpeter equation. By providing an accurate description of the experimental results we disclose the different phenomena that determine the transient optical response of a semiconductor. We give a parameter-free interpretation of concepts such as bleaching, photoinduced absorption, and stimulated emission, beyond the Fermi golden rule. We also introduce the concept of optical gap renormalization, as a generalization of the known mechanism of band gap renormalization. The present scheme successfully describes the case of bulk silicon, showing its universality and accuracy.

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  • Received 1 March 2016
  • Revised 22 April 2016

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevB.93.195205

©2016 American Physical Society

Physics Subject Headings (PhySH)

Condensed Matter, Materials & Applied Physics

Authors & Affiliations

Davide Sangalli1,2, Stefano Dal Conte3, Cristian Manzoni3, Giulio Cerullo3, and Andrea Marini1,2

  • 1Istituto di Struttura della Materia of the National Research Council – Via Salaria Km 29.3, 00016 Monterotondo Stazione, Italy
  • 2European Theoretical Spectroscopy Facility (ETSF)
  • 3Dipartimento di Fisica, Politecnico di Milano and Institute of Photonics and Nanotechnologies, IFN-CNR – Piazza L. da Vinci 32, 20133 Milano, Italy

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Issue

Vol. 93, Iss. 19 — 15 May 2016

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