Parametric amplification of optical phonons.

ABSTRACT: We use coherent midinfrared optical pulses to resonantly excite large-amplitude oscillations of the Si-C stretching mode in silicon carbide. When probing the sample with a second pulse, we observe parametric optical gain at all wavelengths throughout the reststrahlen band. This effect reflects the amplification of light by phonon-mediated four-wave mixing and, by extension, of optical-phonon fluctuations. Density functional theory calculations clarify aspects of the microscopic mechanism for this phenomenon. The high-frequency dielectric permittivity and the phonon oscillator strength depend quadratically on the lattice coordinate; they oscillate at twice the frequency of the optical field and provide a parametric drive for the lattice mode. Parametric gain in phononic four-wave mixing is

SUBMITTER: Cartella A 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6275489 | biostudies-literature | 2018 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature