Generation, detection and spectroscopic studies of high-frequency nonequilibrium phonons in crystals

In this article we will review studies conducted in the past two decades on the dynamic properties of high-frequency (THz) phonons generated monochromatically with high power far infrared (FIR) laser pulses using defect-induced phonon absorption and detected using a vibronic sideband spectrometer fashioned after that devised by Kaplyanskii, the honoree of this special issue. The temporal and spectral evolution of the phonon signature provides information on the mechanisms that dominate the relaxation of high-frequency phonons in real crystals.