Laboratory of Quantum Photonics and Metamaterials continues research of Raman scattering
A paper saw light in ACS Nano.
The publication is a part of Russian Science Foundation-supported project Synthesis and investigation of a new class of nanocomposite ceramics with degenerate dielectric permittivity for optoplasmonic applications, headed by Professor Sergey Kharintsev.
“In the course of this study we were able to experimentally observe electron Raman scattering in semiconductor glasses due to a compressed photon pulse. We used a heterogeneous amorphocrystalline silicon matrix. When illuminating such a system with laser light, we were able to detect low-frequency and high-frequency electron Raman scattering that depends on the size of the structural elements of the substance. This indicates that this radiation can be controlled by structural disorder,” says Kharintsev.
Raman scattering of light (Raman effect) is inelastic scattering of optical radiation on molecules of matter, accompanied by a change in the frequency of the scattered radiation.
In addition to silicon, KFU scientists have observed this effect in other disordered systems: amorphous germanium, transition group metals, fluorites, perovskites, chalcogenides, and high-entropy crystals.
“Disorder in any system, usually perceived as a negative factor, becomes a driver for the development of high technologies, in which ‘order’ emerges from chaos. In solids, disorder promotes spatial coordination of electron and compressed photon impulses and thus leads to enhanced interaction between light and matter. The results obtained were the basis for the creation of a spectroscopic method of structural analysis based on electron Raman scattering of light. This method will be used not only to analyze such disordered solids as glasses, ceramics, amorphous and porous materials, but also for 3D reconstruction of living systems (e.g., proteins) at room temperature,” explains Senior Research Associate Aleksey Noskov.
In optoelectronics, semiconductor glasses will significantly increase the quantum yield of luminescence and enhance photodetection, emphasizes co-author, Lab Technician Elina Battalova. “In addition, this material can be used to create white LEDs and laser light sources with tunable electronic states. Disordered semiconductors can be used for the development of laser cooling technology to cryogenic temperatures. Dynamic disorder in semiconductor glasses is extremely sensitive to temperature, and a temperature sensor can be built on this principle. Significant progress can be made in photovoltaics through the use of heterogeneous semiconductor glasses in solar cells.”