Coherent control of electron-phonon quantum kinetics: exploring the weak and the strong coupling regime Original Research Article

We present an investigation of the very early stage of the dynamics of optically excited semiconductors in the Quantum Kinetics regime. We demonstrate that the wave-like nature of electronic elementary excitations can be observed during their interaction and, furthermore, that this interaction can be quantum mechanically controlled by use of phase locked laser pulses. We present a simple model that accounts well for the experimental results for the small and large coupling constants case, and also provides an intuitive understanding of the underlying physics.