https://doi.org/10.1051/epjconf/20134103018
Ultrafast carrier dynamics and radiative recombination in multiferroic BiFeO3 single crystals and thin films
1 Center for integrated Nanotechnologies, MS K771, Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, New Mexico 87545, USA
2 Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute, Daejeon 305-353, South Korea
3 Rutgers Center for Emergent Materials and Department of Physics and Astronomy, Rutgers University, 136 Frelinghuysen Rd., Piscataway, New Jersey 08854, USA
We report a detailed comparison of ultrafast carrier dynamics in single crystals and thin films of multiferroic BiFeO3 (BFO). Using degenerate femtosecond optical pump-probe spectroscopy, we find that the observed dynamics are qualitatively similar in both samples. After photoexcitation, electrons relax to the conduction band minimum through electron-phonon coupling, with subsequent carrier relaxation proceeding via various recombination pathways that extend to a nanosecond timescale. Subtle differences observed in our measurements indicate that BFO films have a higher band gap than single crystals. Overall, our results demonstrate that carrier relaxation in BFO is analogous to that in bulk semiconductors.
© Owned by the authors, published by EDP Sciences, 2013
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