Imaging Ultrafast Dynamics of Pressure-Driven Phase Transitions in Black Phosphorus and Anomalous Coherent Phonon Softening

Applying high pressure to effectively modulate the electronic and lattice structures of materials could unravel various physical properties associated with phase transitions. In this work, high-pressure-compatible femtosecond pump-probe microscopy was constructed to study the pressure-dependent ultrafast dynamics in black phosphorus (BP) thin films. We observed pressure-driven evolution of the electronic topological transition and three structural phases as the pressure reached ∼22 GPa, which could be clearly differentiated in the transient absorption images containing spatially resolved ultrafast carrier and coherent phonon dynamics. Surprisingly, an anomalous coherent acoustic phonon mode with pressure softening behavior was observed within the range of ∼3-8 GPa, showing distinct laser power and time dependences. Density functional theory calculations show that this mode, identified as the shear mode along the armchair orientation, gains significant electron-phonon coupling strength from out-of-plane compression that leads to decreased phonon frequency. Our results provide insights into the structure evolution of BP with pressure and hold potential for applications in microelectromechanical devices.