Observation of Second-Generation Nonequilibrium Phonons in Highly Photoexcited CdS Microcrystals

Luminescence kinetics of nonthermalized electron-hole plasma in highly excited CdS microcrystals embedded in glass was studied at T=295 K using two pump pulses technique. The observed carrier kinetics shows additional increase in the effective temperature during the pump pulse as a result of the prepump pulse. The increase is shown to be produced by a fusion of long-lived second-generation nonequilibrium phonons generated by the prepump pulse. The experimental results are in good agreement with a model of hot electron-hole plasma energy relaxation with a build-up of two generations of nonequilibrium phonons.