Two-Phonon Quantum Coherences in Indium Antimonide Studied by Nonlinear Two-Dimensional Terahertz Spectroscopy

We report the first observation of two-phonon quantum coherences in a semiconductor. Two-dimensional terahertz (THz) spectra recorded with a sequence of three THz pulses display strong two-phonon signals, clearly distinguished from signals due to interband two-photon absorption and electron tunneling. The two-phonon coherences originate from impulsive off-resonant excitation in the nonperturbative regime of light-matter interaction. A theoretical analysis provides the relevant Liouville pathways, showing that nonlinear interactions using the large interband dipole moment generate stronger two-phonon excitations than linear interactions.