Ambipolar diffusion of photoexcited carriers in bulk GaAs

The ambipolar diffusion of carriers in bulk GaAs is studied by using an ultrafast pump-probe technique with a high spatial resolution. Carriers with a pointlike spatial profile are excited by a tightly focused pump laser pulse. The spatiotemporal dynamics of the carriers are monitored by a time-delayed and spatially scanned probe pulse. Ambipolar diffusion coefficients are deduced from linear fits to the expansion of the area of the profiles, and are found to decrease from about 170 cm(2) s(-1) at 10 K to about 20 cm(2) s(-1) at room temperature. Our results are consistent with those deduced from previously measured mobilities. (C) 2010 American Institute of Physics. [doi:10.1063/1.3533664]