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Title: Large Acoustic Transients Induced by Nonthermal Melting of InSb

Journal Article · · Physical Review Letters
; ; ; ; ;  [1];  [2];  [3]
  1. Department of Physics, Lund University, P.O. Box 118, S-221 00, Lund (Sweden)
  2. Stanford Synchrotron Radiation Laboratory/SLAC, Menlo Park, California 94025 (United States)
  3. Department of Physics, Clarendon Laboratory, University of Oxford, Oxford, OX13PU (United Kingdom)

We have observed large-amplitude strain waves following a rapid change in density of InSb due to nonthermal melting. The strain has been measured in real time via time-resolved x-ray diffraction, with a temporal resolution better than 2 ps. The change from the solid to liquid density of the surface layer launches a high-amplitude strain wave into the crystalline material below. This induces an effective plane rotation in the asymmetrically cut crystal leading to deflection of the diffracted beam. The uniform strain in the layer below the molten layer is 2.0({+-}0.2)%. A strain of this magnitude develops within 5 ps of the incident pulse showing that the liquid has reached the equilibrium density within this time frame. Both the strain amplitude and the depth of the strained material in the solid can be explained by assuming a reduction in the speed of sound in the nonequilibrium liquid compared to measured equilibrium values.

OSTI ID:
20951453
Journal Information:
Physical Review Letters, Vol. 98, Issue 22; Other Information: DOI: 10.1103/PhysRevLett.98.225502; (c) 2007 The American Physical Society; Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); ISSN 0031-9007
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English