Femtosecond time-resolved nonlinear optical spectroscopy of charge transfer at the buried GaP/Si(001) interface

Abstract

The ultrafast charge-carrier dynamics at the buried heterointerface of gallium phosphide on silicon(001) are investigated by means of time-resolved optical second-harmonic generation. Photon energy dependent measurements reveal the existence of electronic interface states in the bandgap of both materials. Charge carriers excited via these interface states are efficiently injected within a few hundred femtoseconds from the GaP/Si interface into the Si substrate, resulting in the build-up of an electric field perpendicular to the interface on a picosecond time scale.