Terahertz Acousto-Optics: From Nano-to Picotechnology

• Applicant: Professor Dr. Manfred Bayer
• Subject Area: Experimental Condensed Matter Physics
• Term: from 2009 to 2015
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 125623522

• Final Report Year: 2016

Final Report Abstract

The overarching goal of this project was exploration of the possibilities offered by ultrafast acoustics for the modulation of various kinds of excitations in condensed matter systems. The promise was that these modulations may be executed with unprecedented parameters such as modulation frequencies up to the THz range, corresponding to times down to picoseconds. Two main research lines were established: (1) the modulation of the light emission from optically active semiconductors; and (2) the modulation of the magnetization in ferromagnetic materials. Besides these main activities also different other material classes such as nano-patterned plasmonic systems and 2D as well as 3D opal structures were inspected. The obtained results are well documented by publications and have been basis for follow-up projects in Collaborative Research Centers, namely “Tailored non-linear photonics: From fundamental concepts to functional structures” and “Coherent manipulation of interacting spin excitations in tailored semiconductors”. During the course of the work also perspectives for technological applications have opened. Currently we are seeking for possibilities to convert the related ideas into concepts that can be implemented outside a physics laboratory. These ideas concern the generation of ultrafast acoustic pulses by compact edge emitting semiconductor lasers as well as the generation of THz oscillating magnetic fields by acoustic phonon-driven magnetostriction for magnetic resonance spectroscopy.

Publications

• Coherent magnetization precession in ferromagnetic (Ga,Mn)As induced by picosecond acoustic pulses. Physical Review Letters 105, 117204 (2010)
  A.V. Scherbakov, A.S. Salasynuk, A.V. Akimov, X. Liu, M. Bombeck, C. Brüggemann, D.R. Yakovlev, V.F. Sapega, J.K. Furdyna, and M. Bayer
  
• Filtering of elastic waves by opal-based hypersonic crystal, Nano Letters 10, 1319 (2010)
  A.S. Salasyuk, A.V. Scherbakov, D.R. Yakovlev, A.V. Akimov, A.A. Kaplyanskii, S.F. Kaplan, S.A. Grudinkin, A.V. Nashchekin, A.B. Pevtsov, V.G. Golubev, T. Berstermann, C. Brüggemann, M. Bombeck, and M. Bayer
  
• Nature Photonics 6, 30 (2012), Laser mode feeding by shaking quantum dots in a planar microcavity
  C. Brüggemann, A.V. Akimov, A.V. Scherbakov, M. Bombeck, C. Schneider, S. Höfling, A. Forchel, D.R. Yakovlev, and M. Bayer
  
• Physical Review B 86, 121401 (R) (2012), Sub-terahertz modulation of a surface plasmon polariton resonance by picosecond acoustics
  C. Brüggemann, A.V. Akimov, B.A. Glavin, V.I. Belotelov, I.A. Akimov, J. Jäger, S. Kasture, A.V. Gopal, A.S. Vengurlekar, D.R. Yakovlev, A.J. Kent, and M. Bayer
  
• Physical Review B 86, 195306 (2012), Ultrafast exciton destruction and recurrence of excitons by shock waves
  T. Berstermann, C. Brüggemann, A.V. Akimov, M. Bombeck, D.R. Yakovlev, N.A. Gippius, A.V. Scherbakov, I. Sagnes, J. Bloch, and M. Bayer
  
• Applied Physics Letters 103, 032409 (2013), Picosecond inverse magnetostriction in galfenol thin films
  J. Jäger, A.V. Scherbakov, T. Linnik, D.R. Yakovlev, M. Wang, P. Wadley, V. Holy, S.A. Cavill, A.V. Akimov, A.W. Rushforth, and M. Bayer
  
• Magnetization precession induced by quasi-transverse picosecond strain pulses in (311) ferromagnetic (GaMn)As. Physical Review B 87, 060302 (R) (2013)
  M. Bombeck, J.V. Jäger, A.V. Scherbakov, T. Linnik, D.R. Yakovlev, X. Liu, J.K. Furdyna, A.V. Akimov, and M. Bayer
  
• Nature Communications 5, 4038 (2014), Lasing from active optomechanical resonators
  T. Czerniuk, C. Brüggemann, J. Tepper, C. Schneider, S. Höfling, A. Forchel, B.A. Glavin, D.R. Yakovlev, A.V. Akimov, and M. Bayer
  
• Applied Physics Letters 106, 041103 (2015), Impact of nanomechanical resonances on lasing from electrically pumped quantum dot micropillars
  T. Czerniuk, J. Tepper, A.V. Akimov, S. Unsleber, C. Schneider, M. Kamp, S. Höfling, D.R. Yakovlev, and M. Bayer
  
• Resonant driving of magnetization precession in a ferromagnetic layer by coherent monochromatic phonons. Physical Review B 92, 020404 (R) (2015)
  J.V. Jäger, A.V. Scherbakov, B.A. Glavin, A.S. Salasyuk, R.P. Campion, A.W. Rushforth, D.R. Yakovlev, A.V. Akimov, and M. Bayer