Picosecond spectroscopy of semiconductors

The time-resolved reflectivity of picosecond pulses from optically excited carrier distributions can provide important information about the energy relaxation rates of hot electrons and holes in semiconductors. The basic optical properties of non-equilibrium carrier distributions are discussed, and in the specific case of GaAs, a semi-empirical analysis of the reflectivity spectrum is described which estimates the contributions from the principal critical points of the band structure. Using Boltzmann factors to approximate the hot carrier distributions, it is found that the non-equilibrium reflectivity spectrum is a sensitive function of carrier temperature and that it can reverse its sign as the distribution relaxes. These results are in good qualitative agreement with recent experiments employing a mode-locked cw dye laser.