Exciton Mott transition in Si revealed by terahertz spectroscopy

We investigate the exciton Mott transition in Si by using optical pump and terahertz probe spectroscopy. The density-dependent exciton ionization ratio α is quantitatively evaluated from the analysis of dielectric function and conductivity spectra. The Mott density is clearly determined by the rapid increase in α as a function of electron-hole (e-h) pair density, which agrees well with the value expected from the random phase approximation theory. However, exciton is sustained in the high-density metallic region above the Mott density as manifested by the 1s-2p excitonic resonance that remains intact across the Mott density. Moreover, the charge carrier scattering rate is strongly enhanced slightly above the Mott density due to nonvanishing excitons, indicating the emergence of highly correlated metallic phase in the photoexcited e-h system. Concomitantly, the loss function spectra exhibit the signature of plasmon-exciton coupling, i.e., the existence of a new collective mode of charge density excitation combined with the excitonic polarization at the proximity of Mott density.