Sub-Terahertz Monochromatic Transduction with Semiconductor Acoustic Nanodevices

Agnès Huynh (1) , Bernard Perrin (1) , N. D. Lanzillotti Kimura (2, 3) , Bernard Jusserand (2) , A. Fainstein (3, 4) , Aristide Lemaitre (5)

1 INSP-E3 - Acoustique pour les nanosciences
2 INSP - Institut des Nanosciences de Paris
3 Centro Atómico Bariloche [Argentine]
4 Instituto Balseiro [Bariloche]
5 LPN - Laboratoire de photonique et de nanostructures

We demonstrate semiconductor superlattices or nanocavities as narrow band acoustic transducers in the sub-terahertz range. Using picosecond ultrasonics experiments in the transmission geometry with pump and probe incident on opposite sides of the thick substrate, phonon generation and detection processes are fully decoupled. Generating with the semiconductor device and probing on the metal, we show that both superlattices and nanocavities generate spectrally narrow wavepackets of coherent phonons with frequencies in the vicinity of the zone center and time durations in the nanosecond range, qualitatively different from picosecond broadband pulses usually involved in picosecond acoustics with metal generators. Generating in the metal and probing on the nanoacoustic device, we furthermore evidence that both nanostructured semiconductor devices may be used as very sensitive and spectrally selective detectors.

Domaines: Autre [cond-mat.other]

Agnès Huynh, Bernard Perrin, N. D. Lanzillotti Kimura, Bernard Jusserand, A. Fainstein, et al.. Sub-Terahertz Monochromatic Transduction with Semiconductor Acoustic Nanodevices. Physical Review B: Condensed Matter and Materials Physics (1998-2015), 2008, 78, pp.233302. ⟨10.1103/PhysRevB.78.233302⟩. ⟨hal-00264042⟩