Probing ultrafast processes in semiconductors and devices with ultrashort optical pulses

Summary form only given. Faster and smaller- that has been a major goal in semiconductor device R and D. High speed semiconductor devices operating on a picosecond time scale are already available indicating that the nonequilibrium carrier dynamical processes occur in these devices on an ultrafast time scale. Just as it is interesting to be able to resolve smaller and smaller geometrical features of material structures by advanced microscopy, it is exciting to have a window into the ultrashort time domain to probe the ultrafast processes that occur after electrons and holes are injected in a semiconductor. A very convenient way of investigating this is to excite the semiconductor with an ultrashort laser pulse and monitor the linear and nonlinear response of the carriers using ultrafast time resolved optical measurement techniques. A large body of knowledge is now built in this area over the past several years. In this talk, the author will describe some of these developments with an emphasis on results obtained in our laboratory.