Off-axis phonon and photon propagation in porous silicon superlattices studied by Brillouin spectroscopy and optical reflectance

Abstract

Brillouin light scattering experiments and optical reflectance measurements were performed on a pair of porous silicon-based optical Bragg mirrors which had constituent layer porosity ratios close to unity. For off-axis propagation, the phononic and photonic band structures of the samples were modeled as a series of intersecting linear dispersion curves. Zone-folding was observed for the longitudinal bulk acoustic phonon and the frequency of the probed zone-folded longitudinal phonon was shown to be dependent on the propagation direction as well as the folding order of the mode branch. There was no conclusive evidence of coupling between the transverse and the folded longitudinal modes. Two additional observed Brillouin peaks were attributed to the Rayleigh surface mode and a possible pseudo-surface mode. Both of these modes were dispersive, with the velocity increasing as the wavevector decreased.