Giant Exciton Mott Density in Anatase TiO_{2}.

Elucidating the carrier density at which strongly bound excitons dissociate into a plasma of uncorrelated electron-hole pairs is a central topic in the many-body physics of semiconductors. However, there is a lack of information on the high-density response of excitons absorbing in the near-to-mid ultraviolet, due to the absence of suitable experimental probes in this elusive spectral range. Here, we present a unique combination of many-body perturbation theory and state-of-the-art ultrafast broadband ultraviolet spectroscopy to unveil the interplay between the ultraviolet-absorbing two-dimensional excitons of anatase TiO_{2} and a sea of electron-hole pairs.

Mahan excitons in room-temperature methylammonium lead bromide perovskites.

In a seminal paper, Mahan predicted that excitonic bound states can still exist in a semiconductor at electron-hole densities above the insulator-to-metal Mott transition. However, no clear evidence for this exotic quasiparticle, dubbed Mahan exciton, exists to date at room temperature. In this work, we combine ultrafast broadband optical spectroscopy and advanced many-body calculations to reveal that organic-inorganic lead-bromide perovskites host Mahan excitons at room temperature.

Exciton control in a room temperature bulk semiconductor with coherent strain pulses.

Controlling the excitonic optical properties of room temperature semiconductors using time-dependent perturbations is key to future optoelectronic applications. The optical Stark effect in bulk and low-dimensional materials has recently shown exciton shifts below 20 meV. Here, we demonstrate dynamical tuning of the exciton properties by photoinduced coherent acoustic phonons in the cheap and abundant wide-gap semiconductor anatase titanium dioxide (TiO) in single crystalline form.

Phonon-Driven Selective Modulation of Exciton Oscillator Strengths in Anatase TiO Nanoparticles.

The way nuclear motion affects electronic responses has become a very hot topic in materials science. Coherent acoustic phonons can dynamically modify optical, magnetic, and mechanical properties at ultrasonic frequencies, with promising applications as sensors and transducers. Here, by means of ultrafast broadband deep-ultraviolet spectroscopy, we demonstrate that coherent acoustic phonons confined in anatase TiO nanoparticles can selectively modulate the oscillator strength of the two-dimensional bound excitons supported by the material.

Interfacial Electron Injection Probed by a Substrate-Specific Excitonic Signature.

Ultrafast interfacial electron transfer in sensitized solar cells has mostly been probed by visible-to-terahertz radiation, which is sensitive to the free carriers in the conduction band of the semiconductor substrate. Here, we demonstrate the use of deep-ultraviolet continuum pulses to probe the interfacial electron transfer, by detecting a specific excitonic transition in both N719-sensitized anatase TiO and wurtzite ZnO nanoparticles. Our results are compared to those obtained on bare nanoparticles upon above-gap excitation.

The LOUVRE Laboratory: State-of-the-Art Ultrafast Ultraviolet Spectroscopies for Molecular and Materials Science.

We describe the facilities for ultraviolet studies in the femtosecond to nanosecond time domain. These facilities consist of: i) a set-up for deep-ultraviolet spectroscopy in the 260-380 nm range in both pump and probe pulses for transient absorption/reflectivity or two-dimensional spectroscopy studies; ii) a set-up for ultrafast fluorescence measurements with detection down to 300 nm. The capabilities of these set-ups are demonstrated by examples on molecular systems, biosystems, nanoparticles and solid materials.