Acoustic absorption by the electron-hole liquid in germanium

Technical Report · Tue Nov 01 00:00:00 EST 1977

DOI:https://doi.org/10.2172/5063917· OSTI ID:5063917

Hansen, A D.A.

The absorption of ultrasonic acoustic waves by the electron-hole liquid that may be created in germanium at liquid helium temperatures by intense optical excitation was studied. This is a degenerate compensated Fermi liquid that exhibits the behavior of both classical dynamics in a force field, and quantum phenomena in a magnetic field. Results of theoretical and experimental studies of the interaction of the mobile liquid with a travelling acoustic wave force field, the attenuation of the wave due to energy-dissipative processes coupling the liquid to the crystal lattice, and the effect of a moderately strong magnetic field on the dynamic behavior of the system are presented. In unstrained germanium the electron-hole liquid (EHL) is known to be condensed into small droplets of radius approx. 5 ..mu..m; the creation of an EHL energy well by the application of an inhomogeneous stress causes the liquid to be aggregated into a macroscopically large volume.

• Research Organization: Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States)
• DOE Contract Number: W-7405-ENG-48
• OSTI ID: 5063917
• Report Number(s): LBL-7326; TRN: 78-008086
• Resource Relation: Other Information: Thesis
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS
SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND SUPERFLUIDITY
36 MATERIALS SCIENCE
GERMANIUM
ACOUSTIC MEASUREMENTS
FERMI GAS
DROPLETS
ELECTRONS
HOLES
MAGNETIC FIELDS
STRESSES
ULTRALOW TEMPERATURE
ELEMENTARY PARTICLES
ELEMENTS
FERMIONS
LEPTONS
METALS
PARTICLES
656001* - Condensed Matter Physics- Solid-State Plasma
360104 - Metals & Alloys- Physical Properties