Lecture 8 – Light-Matter Interaction

Part 2
Basic excitation and coupling

EECS 598-002 Winter 2006

Nanophotonics and Nano-scale Fabrication
P.C.Ku
 Schedule for the rest of the semester
„ Introduction to light-matter interaction (1/26):
„ How to determine ε(r)?
„ The relationship to basic excitations.
„ Basic excitations and measurement of ε(r). (1/31)
„ Structure dependence of ε(r) overview (2/2)
„ Surface effects (2/7 & 2/9):
„ Surface EM wave
„ Surface polaritons
„ Size dependence
„ Case studies (2/14 – 2/21):
„ Quantum wells, wires, and dots
„ Nanophotonics in microscopy
„ Nanophotonics in plasmonics
„ Dispersion engineering (2/23 – 3/9):
„ Material dispersion
„ Waveguide dispersion (photonic crystals)

EECS 598-002 Nanophotonics and Nanoscale Fabrication by P.C.Ku 2

 Last time
„ We learned:

„ To determine ε(r), we need to study how the microscopic

interaction between atoms/electrons with the light.
„ This interaction is similar to coupling of two SHO’s.
„ The only details we need to know are the interaction near
resonances of basic excitations.
„ The rest of the information needed to complete the calculation of
ε(r) is through the Kramers-Kronig relation.

EECS 598-002 Nanophotonics and Nanoscale Fabrication by P.C.Ku 3

 Today
„ Basic excitations by photons Æ polaritons

„ Plasmons (last time)

„ Phonons
„ Excitons, biexcitons, etc.

„ Measurement of ε(r)

Ref: D. L. Mills and E. Burstein, “Polaritons,” Rep. Prog. Phys., 37 (1974) 817.
P. Y. Yu and M. Cardona, Fundamentals of Semiconductors, 2nd ed.,
Springer-Verlag (1999) chapters 6 and 7.

EECS 598-002 Nanophotonics and Nanoscale Fabrication by P.C.Ku 4

 Review of the concept of polaritons
„ In a dielectric medium:
⎡ ⎤
⎢ ω pn
2 ⎥ N n qn2
ε (ω ) = ε 0 ⎢1 − ∑ ⎥ where ω ≡
2

⎢ n basic (ω − ω0 n ) + iγ nω ⎥ mnε 0
2 2 pn

⎢⎣ excitations
or oscillators ⎥⎦
ω p2
=ε ∞ − ε 0 2
(ω − ω02 ) + iγω
where the index denotes the n-th kind of basic excitation
or SHO.
„ QM analogue:
2 2
nq exˆ
ω =2
→
p
ε 0m ε0
EECS 598-002 Nanophotonics and Nanoscale Fabrication by P.C.Ku 5
 Transverse and longitudinal vibrations
Longitudinally vibrated SHO’s

Vertically vibrated SHO’s

EECS 598-002 Nanophotonics and Nanoscale Fabrication by P.C.Ku 6

 Transverse and longitudinal polaritons
For homogeneous media:
K
∇⋅ D = 0
K K K
⇒ ∇ ⋅ (ε E ) = 0 ⇒ ε k ⋅ E = 0
K K
⇒ k ⋅ E = 0 or ε = 0
Normally EM wave couples only to transverse SHO’s unless
the dielectric constant vanishes.

EECS 598-002 Nanophotonics and Nanoscale Fabrication by P.C.Ku 7

 Longitudinal polaritons
k2
ε= =0
ω µ0 2
EM wave can couple to
the longitudinal vibration.
Photons
In free space
ω

ω02 + ω p2

ω0

EECS 598-002 Nanophotonics and Nanoscale Fabrication by P.C.Ku 8

 Phonons
M m

a
vn un
⎧ mun = −α (un − vn −1 ) − α (un − vn +1 ) ω optical
⎨
⎩ Mvn = −α ( vn − un −1 ) − α ( vn − un +1 )
By periodicity:
⎧⎪un = u exp [i (2nka − ωt )]
⎨ acoustic
⎪⎩ vn = v exp [i (2( n + 1)ka − ωt ) ]
⎧ −mω 2 u = α ⎡ v ( eika + e − ika ) − 2u ⎤
⎪ ⎣ ⎦
⇒⎨ k
⎪⎩ − M ω v = α ⎡⎣ u ( e + e ) − 2v ⎤⎦ π /a
2 ika − ika

1/ 2
⎛m+M ⎞ ⎡⎛ m + M ⎞ 2(1 − cos ka ) ⎤
2

⇒ ω2 = α ⎜ ⎟ ± α ⎢⎜ ⎟ − ⎥
⎝ mM ⎠ ⎢⎣ ⎝ mM ⎠ mM ⎥⎦

EECS 598-002 Nanophotonics and Nanoscale Fabrication by P.C.Ku 9

 Orders of magnitude
„ At optical frequencies, k=ω/c~107.
„ For typical crystal lattice, π/a~1010.
„ Only optical phonons couple to the light.

k ≈0
For optical branch:
u M
≈− Can generate the dipole moment
v m
For acoustic branch:
u
≈1
v

EECS 598-002 Nanophotonics and Nanoscale Fabrication by P.C.Ku 10

 Examples of phonon dispersion curves

silicon GaAs

Taken from P. Yu and M. Cardona.

EECS 598-002 Nanophotonics and Nanoscale Fabrication by P.C.Ku 11

 Dispersion curve for phonon polaritons
Free-space-photon-like

Photons
In free space

ω02 + ω p2 = ωLO

ω0 = ωTO

k
Photon-like but with
strong phonon influence

EECS 598-002 Nanophotonics and Nanoscale Fabrication by P.C.Ku 12

 Raman processes
„ When light is not at the infrared frequency, phonons can
still participate in the inelastic processes with light Æ
Raman processes.

„ The scattered light has a frequency shift w.r.t to the

incident light due to its energy lost (or gain) to phonons.

„ Energy lost: Stokes process

Energy gain: Anti-Stokes process

EECS 598-002 Nanophotonics and Nanoscale Fabrication by P.C.Ku 13

 Excitons (two-level system)
el The Coulomb interaction b/w electron and
hole makes the exciton. Exciton is like a
hydrogen atom.
hole

Exciton absorption

Coulomb
enhancement

Eg E

EECS 598-002 Nanophotonics and Nanoscale Fabrication by P.C.Ku 14

 Hot carriers relaxation processes

Carrier capture

Phase relaxation
T2~100fs - ps
k Thermalization

Recombination (T1~ns)

EECS 598-002 Nanophotonics and Nanoscale Fabrication by P.C.Ku 15

 Size dependence (quantum confinement)
g(E) = Density of states

dot
wire
bulk sheet

3D 2D 1D 0D
g(E) g(E) g(E) g(E)

Eg E Eg E Eg E Eg E

EECS 598-002 Nanophotonics and Nanoscale Fabrication by P.C.Ku 16

 Exciton absorption in low-dim structures
Exciton binding energy: Exciton absorption:

EB2 d,n =1 = 4 EB3d,n =1 2D:

2D:

1D:

1D:

a0=exciton Bohr radius~100A

EECS 598-002 Nanophotonics and Nanoscale Fabrication by P.C.Ku 17

 Excitons (three-level system)

If we consider the polariton

corresponding to exciton 1:

EECS 598-002 Nanophotonics and Nanoscale Fabrication by P.C.Ku 18

 Electromagnetically induced transparency

1 α
ωp= ω31
3

ωs= ω21
n

EECS 598-002 Nanophotonics and Nanoscale Fabrication by P.C.Ku 19

 Measurement of ε(r) - ellipsometry
ellipsometry

Sensitive to: Need to know underlying

1. Film thickness composition of materials.
2. Surface roughness
3. Anisotropy

EECS 598-002 Nanophotonics and Nanoscale Fabrication by P.C.Ku 20