Generation of coherent acoustic phonons in strained GaN thin films

Abstract

Coherent acoustic phonon oscillations were generated and studied in strained GaN thin films. Inside the bulk GaN film, the longitudinal interference of an ultraviolet femtosecond pump pulse created periodic carrier distribution that screened out the strain-induced piezoelectric field and initiated the coherent longitudinal acoustic phonon oscillations corresponding to the carrier periods. The created coherent phonon oscillation modulated the piezoelectric field thus modified the absorption property of the GaN thin film through Franz–Keldysh effect. This time-dependent absorption modulation was reflected in the transmission variation of the followed probe pulses, resulting a long decay time ∼300 ps for the initiated coherent phonon oscillations.