Controlling coherent optical phonons in tellurium

Presentation Date: 

Tuesday, April 20, 2004

Location: 

JILA Colloquium, University of Colorado (Boulder, CO)

Presentation Slides: 

Using time-resolved reflectometry we measure the dielectric function of tellurium following excitation with a femtosecond laser pulse. The dielectric function reveals the ultrafast dynamics of coherent phonons in Te. Oscillations in the bonding-antibonding splitting allow for THz modulation of a semiconductor-semimetal transition. Using two-pulse sequences, we can control the phonons, stabilizing the bandstructure in the semimetallic state.