Date of Award
2023
Degree Type
Dissertation
Degree Name
Doctor of Philosophy in Physics
Department
Physics
First Advisor
Feruz Ganikhanov
Abstract
Essential to green energy technologies are new materials for high-power electronics, especially wide-bandgap semiconductors such as Barium Stannate (BSO) and Strontium Titanate (STO) which promise outstanding performance in high power transistor applications. Design and performance of these materials relies on detailed knowledge of basic physical parameters, including charge-carrier mobility. The mobility values can be as high as 500 cm2/Vs for electron concentrations >1x1019 /cm3 provided that the effect of impurity scattering is reduced using special doping techniques. In this case, the inelastic carrier-phonon scattering is the only mechanism that strongly affects the mobility as the polar optical (LO) phonons can mediate energy exchanges between the hot carriers and the lattice. In turn, carrier-phonon scattering rates directly depend on the phonon population and decay that are governed by phonon-phonon interactions. In addition to the fundamental point of view, lattice vibrations (LO and TO-phonons) and their characteristics are key in quantifying and modeling the oxide material’s complex dielectric function. Precision measurements of the phonon relaxation rates are critical from both the standpoints of practical device applications of the materials and fundamental topics in condensed matter and plasma physics. Precision that can be delivered by time domain coherent Raman techniques cannot be attained by existing traditional measurement techniques, like spontaneous Raman scattering. This study has been focused on direct measurement of the phonon decay time in high-bandgap semiconductors of high interest for high-power applications utilizing a sophisticated time-resolved coherent anti-Stokes Raman scattering (CARS) spectroscopy setup. These experiments and measurements have been done for the first time and the results provide phonon decay times and linewidth parameters. The precision in linewidth measurement exceeds other techniques. The dissertation is composed of three published papers. The first paper details the experimental setup built to perform time-delayed CARS spectroscopy. It features high-powered output from two synchronously pumped Optical Parametric Oscillators, the second of which is widely and continuously tunable from 1030-1350 nanometers. The versatility of the system allows for probing of Raman resonances from 250-2400 cm-1 with resolution of dynamic processes on the femtosecond timescale. The second paper presents the results of measurements on a sample of barium stannate, BaSnO3 (or BSO). The third paper details the result of measurements on strontium titanate, SrTiO3 (or STO). These materials are wide-bandgap semiconductors with potential uses in high-power systems such as electric vehicles and other components of green technology.
Recommended Citation
Sylvester, Jeremy, "FEMTOSECOND TIME-RESOLVED COHERENT RAMAN SPECTROSCOPY OF EQUILIBRIUM PHONONS IN CUBIC PEROVSKITES" (2023). Open Access Dissertations. Paper 1574.
https://digitalcommons.uri.edu/oa_diss/1574
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