Charge transport and carrier dynamics in liquids probed by THz time-domain spectroscopy

Phys Rev Lett. 2001 Jan 8;86(2):340-3. doi: 10.1103/PhysRevLett.86.340.

Abstract

We examine the transport properties and the dynamics of free electrons in n-hexane by means of femtosecond spectroscopy using an ultraviolet pump pulse to create the electrons and a THz electromagnetic pulse as a probe. The complex dielectric response of the photogenerated electrons is determined over a broad range of frequencies, from which we infer the electron scattering time and density through the Drude model. The time evolution of the carrier density reveals nongeminate electron-ion recombination within hundreds of picoseconds at high ion concentration.