Semiconductor materials for ultrafast optoelectronic applications

The paper presents a review of experimental investigations of various semiconductor materials used for the development of ultrafast optoelectronic devices activated by femtosecond laser pulses that have been performed at the Optoelectronics Laboratory of the Semiconductor Physics Institute during the period from 1997 to 2008.Technology and physical characteristics of low-temperature-grown GaAs and GaBiAs layers as well as the effect of terahertz radiation from the femtosecond laser excited semiconductor surfaces are described and analysed.