Linear and Nonlinear Electro-Optics in a Semiconductor

<p>Numerous investigative efforts have been made to study the properties of semiconductor materials, which are the foundation of modern electronics. In this dissertation, we study semiconductor electro-optics in both linear and nonlinear regimes. Three main topics are presented. First, we describe transverse electroreflectance (ER) and electroabsorption (EA) experiments using a rapidly oscillating radio-frequency (RF) bias and electrodes that are insulated from the semiconductor sample. This technique produces an effectively uniform transverse electric field in a metal-semiconductor-metal structure. Then a pulsed terahertz emitter that uses the RF biasing technique is described. The effectively uniform electric field generated by the RF technique allows excitation of a large laser spot, lowering the photo-excited carrier density for a given pulse energy and increasing the efficiency of terahertz generation. The last part focuses on quantum interference control in a semiconductor. Measurement of ballistic current injection and coherent control of the photo-excited carrier density through the interference of one- and two photon absorption in the presence of a static electric field, are described. These experiments and results provide better understanding of electro-optical properties in semiconductor materials.</p>