Direct measurement of lattice dynamics and optical phonon excitation in semiconductor nanocrystals using femtosecond stimulated Raman spectroscopy

Phys Rev Lett. 2013 Sep 6;111(10):107401. doi: 10.1103/PhysRevLett.111.107401. Epub 2013 Sep 5.

Abstract

We report femtosecond stimulated Raman spectroscopy measurements of lattice dynamics in semiconductor nanocrystals and characterize longitudinal optical (LO) phonon production during confinement-enhanced, ultrafast intraband relaxation. Stimulated Raman signals from unexcited CdSe nanocrystals produce a spectral shape similar to spontaneous Raman signals. Upon photoexcitation, stimulated Raman amplitude decreases owing to experimentally resolved ultrafast phonon generation rates within the lattice. We find a ∼600 fs, particle-size-independent depletion time attributed to hole cooling, evidence of LO-to-acoustic down-conversion, and LO phonon mode softening.