Ultrafast carrier dynamics in GaN epilayers studied by femtosecond pump-probe spectroscopy

Femtosecond pump-probe measurements were performed in GaN epilayers to study carrier dynamics in the band edge region. Excitonic absorption was found to begin saturating at a pump fluence of 20 (mu) J/cm 2 which corresponds to an estimated carrier density of 1 X 10 18 cm -3 . At zero delay between pump and probe, induced absorption is observed below the unpumped band gap due to ultrafast bandgap renormalization. After 375 fs, a large induced transparency is observed just below the excitonic resonance which is due to a transient electron-hole plasma. After 1 ps, the absorption has partially recovered to a level associated with excitonic phase-space filling. The absorption then recovers with a characteristic time of approximately 20 ps, a value which increases with increasing excitation density.