An empirical potential for silicon under conditions of strong electronic excitation

作者：Shokeen Lalit^*; Schelling Patrick K

来源：Applied Physics Letters, 2010, 97(15): 151907.

DOI：10.1063/1.3499296

We present an empirical potential developed for silicon under conditions of strong electronic excitation. We show the essentially athermal nature of the melting transition when the electronic temperature is extremely high. The resulting liquid is shown to be distinct from ordinary liquid silicon. For less intense excitations, we determine the thermal melting temperature and demonstrate the possible existence of a regime where ordinary thermodynamic melting can occur but at a reduced temperature T(m). We show laser-induced softening of the lattice can lead to lattice cooling for very short time scales (similar to 100 fs), an effect never before recognized.

• 出版日期2010-10-11