Spectroscopy aids optoelectronics

A new generation of ultra-fast optoelectronics based on semiconducting nanowires could be possible with a spectroscopy technique developed by UK and Australian researchers.

The team, from Oxford University and the Australian National University, are aiming to understand the way electrons move in nanowires with radii as small as 30nm.

Principal investigator Michael Johnston, a physicist at Oxford University, said it is extremely challenging to attain this information because it is difficult to separate the properties of the nano-material from those of the contact material.

Johnston and his research team are exploring the limits of a contactless method called optical pump terahertz probe spectroscopy. The technique involves an ultra-fast laser that emits pulses of light, covering a wide frequency range that peaks in the terahertz region.

The pulses are emitted into a spectroscopy device every millisecond. Inside the device, each pulse is split into two beams and sent through a maze of mirrors and channels.