Excitonic lasing in semiconductor quantum wires

Direct experimental evidences for excitonic lasing is obtained in optically pumped V-groove quantum wire structures. We demonstrate that laser emission at a temperature of 10 K arises from a population inversion of localized excitons within the inhomogenously-broadened luminescence line. At the lasing threshold, we estimate a maximum exciton density of about 1.8 105cm-1.Comment: 11 pages, 4 figures, submitted to Phys. Rev.

Anisotropic charge dynamics in detwinned Ba(Fe1−x_{1-x}Cox_x)2_2As2_2

We investigate the optical conductivity as a function of temperature with light polarized along the in-plane orthorhombic $a$- and $b$-axes of Ba(Fe$_{1-x}$Co$_x$)$_2$As$_2$ for $x$=0 and 2.5$\%$ under uniaxial pressure. The charge dynamics at low frequencies on these detwinned, single domain compounds tracks the anisotropic $dc$ transport properties across their structural and magnetic phase transitions. Our findings allow us to estimate the dichroism, which extends to relatively high frequencies. These results are consistent with a scenario in which orbital order plays a significant role in the tetragonal-to-orthorhombic structural transition

Optical investigation of the metal-insulator transition in FeSb2FeSb_2

We present a comprehensive optical study of the narrow gap $FeSb_2$ semiconductor. From the optical reflectivity, measured from the far infrared up to the ultraviolet spectral range, we extract the complete absorption spectrum, represented by the real part $\sigma_1(\omega)$ of the complex optical conductivity. With decreasing temperature below 80 K, we find a progressive depletion of $\sigma_1(\omega)$ below $E_g\sim 280$ cm$^{-1}$, the semiconducting optical gap. The suppressed (Drude) spectral weight within the gap is transferred at energies $\omega>E_g$ and also partially piles up over a continuum of excitations extending in the spectral range between zero and $E_g$. Moreover, the interaction of one phonon mode with this continuum leads to an asymmetric phonon shape. Even though several analogies between $FeSb_2$ and $FeSi$ were claimed and a Kondo-insulator scenario was also invoked for both systems, our data on $FeSb_2$ differ in several aspects from those of $FeSi$. The relevance of our findings with respect to the Kondo insulator description will be addressed.Comment: 17 pages, 5 figure

Anisotropic in-plane optical conductivity in detwinned Ba(Fe1-xCox)2As2

We study the anisotropic in-plane optical conductivity of detwinned Ba(Fe1-xCox)2As2 single crystals for x=0, 2.5% and 4.5% in a broad energy range (3 meV-5 eV) across their structural and magnetic transitions. For temperatures below the Neel transition, the topology of the reconstructed Fermi surface, combined with the distinct behavior of the scattering rates, determines the anisotropy of the low frequency optical response. For the itinerant charge carriers, we are able to disentangle the evolution of the Drude weights and scattering rates and to observe their enhancement along the orthorhombic antiferromagnetic a-axis with respect to the ferromagnetic b-axis. For temperatures above Ts, uniaxial stress leads to a finite in-plane anisotropy. The anisotropy of the optical conductivity, leading to a significant dichroism, extends to high frequencies in the mid- and near-infrared regions. The temperature dependence of the dichroism at all dopings scales with the anisotropy ratio of the dc conductivity, suggesting the electronic nature of the structural transition. Our findings bear testimony to a large nematic susceptibility that couples very effectively to the uniaxial lattice strain. In order to clarify the subtle interplay of magnetism and Fermi surface topology we compare our results with theoretical calculations obtained from density functional theory within the full-potential linear augmented plane-wave method.Comment: 17 pages, 9 figure

Electronic Structure and Charge Dynamics of Huesler Alloy Fe2TiSn Probed by Infrared and Optical Spectroscopy

We report on the electrodynamics of a Heusler alloy Fe2TiSn probed over four decades in energy: from the far infrared to the ultraviolet. Our results do not support the suggestion of Kondo-lattice behavior inferred from specific heat measurements. Instead, we find a conventional Drude-like response of free carriers, with two additional absorption bands centered at around 0.1 and 0.87 eV. The latter feature can be interpreted as excitations across a pseudogap, in accord with band structure calculations.Comment: 3 pages, 4 figure

Optical conductivity in the normal state fullerene superconductors

We calculate the optical conductivity, $\sigma(\omega)$, in the normal state fullerene superconductors by self-consistently including the impurity scatterings, the electron-phonon and electron-electron Coulomb interactions. The finite bandwidth of the fullerenes is explicitely considered, and the vertex corection is included $a$ $la$ Nambu in calculating the renormalized Green's function. $\sigma(\omega)$ is obtained by calculating the current-current correlation function with the renormalized Green's function in the Matsubara frequency and then performing analytic continuation to the real frequency at finite temperature. The Drude weight in $\sigma(\omega)$ is strongly suppressed due to the interactions and transfered to the mid-infrared region around and above 0.06 eV which is somewhat less pronounced and much broader compared with the expermental observation by DeGiorgi $et$ $al$.Comment: 6 pages, 4 figures. To be published in Physical Review B, July 1

Infrared signature of the charge-density-wave gap in ZrTe3

Abstract.: The chain-like ZrTe3 compound undergoes a charge-density-wave (CDW) transition at TCDW=63K, most strongly affecting the conductivity perpendicular to the chains. We measure the temperature (T) dependence of the optical reflectivity from the far infrared up to the ultraviolet with polarized light. The CDW gap Δ(T) along the direction perpendicular to the chains is compatible for T<TCDW with the behavior of an order parameter within the mean-field Bardeen-Cooper-Schrieffer (BCS) theory. Δ(T) also persists well above TCDW, which emphasizes the role played by fluctuation effect

Optical Probing of Thermal Lattice Fluctuations in Charge-Density-Wave Condensates

Thermal lattice fluctuations in charge-density-wave (CDW) condensates have been studied by means of optical investigations on the prototype CDW compound K0.3MoO3 and its alloys. The temperature dependence of the CDW gap absorption in the mid-IR frequency range is strongly indicative of the important role played by the thermal lattice fluctuation effects. The latter remove the inverse-square-root singularity, expected for the case of the static distorted lattice. In fact, a considerable broadening (i.e., larger than k(B)T) of the subgap tail absorption is found by increasing the temperature towards T(CDW). Moreover, we find that the phase phonon modes also give an important contribution to the disorder parameter, thus being an essential ingredient for the thermal fluctuation effects