Generation of coherent acoustic phonons in strained GaN thin films

Coherent acoustic phonon oscillations were generated and studied in straine d GaN thin films. Inside the bulk GaN film, the longitudinal interference o f an ultraviolet femtosecond pump pulse created periodic carrier distributi on that screened out the strain-induced piezoelectric field and initiated t he coherent longitudinal acoustic phonon oscillations corresponding to the carrier periods. The created coherent phonon oscillation modulated the piez oelectric field thus modified the absorption property of the GaN thin film through Franz-Keldysh effect. This time-dependent absorption modulation was reflected in the transmission variation of the followed probe pulses, resu lting a long decay time similar to 300 ps for the initiated coherent phonon oscillations. (C) 2001 American Institute of Physics.