Electro-optic sampling of 1.5-ps photoresponse signal from YBa2Cu3O7−δ thin films

Photoresponse signals with widths as short as 1.5 ps are observed from epitaxial YBa2Cu3O7−δ thin films using electro-optic sampling techniques. Voltage transients less than 2 ps wide are seen in 100- and 200-nm films exposed to 150-fs laser pulses and cooled to 79 K. At low bias currents, the amplitude of the fast response varies linearly with the bias current, suggesting a kinetic inductive mechanism. A negative transient about 15-ps long is also seen that may provide evidence for nonequilibrium recombination of excited quasiparticles into Cooper pairs. At high bias currents or large laser fluences, a fast tail with a decay time of about 10 ps appears in the response followed by a slow, resistive bolometric component due to sample heating. Nonequilibrium aspects of the photoresponse and the origin of the fast tail are discussed.