69 research outputs found
Photovoltage in curved 1D systems
Curvature of quantum wire results in intrasubband absorption of
IR radiation that induces stationary photovoltage in presence of circular
polarization. This effect is studied in ballistic (collisionless) and kinetic
regimes. The consideration is concentrated on quantum wires with curved central
part. It is shown, that if mean free path is shorter than length of the curved
part the photovoltage does not depend on the wire shape, but on the total angle
of rotation of wire tangent. It is not the case when mean free path is finite
or large. This situation was studied for three specific shapes of wires: "hard
angle", "open book" and "-like".Comment: 12 pages, 1 figur
Two-photon spin injection in semiconductors
A comparison is made between the degree of spin polarization of electrons
excited by one- and two-photon absorption of circularly polarized light in bulk
zincblende semiconductors. Time- and polarization-resolved experiments in
(001)-oriented GaAs reveal an initial degree of spin polarization of 49% for
both one- and two-photon spin injection at wavelengths of 775 and 1550 nm, in
agreement with theory. The macroscopic symmetry and microscopic theory for
two-photon spin injection are reviewed, and the latter is generalized to
account for spin-splitting of the bands. The degree of spin polarization of
one- and two-photon optical orientation need not be equal, as shown by
calculations of spectra for GaAs, InP, GaSb, InSb, and ZnSe using a 14x14 k.p
Hamiltonian including remote band effects. By including the higher conduction
bands in the calculation, cubic anisotropy and the role of allowed-allowed
transitions can be investigated. The allowed-allowed transitions do not
conserve angular momentum and can cause a high degree of spin polarization
close to the band edge; a value of 78% is calculated in GaSb, but by varying
the material parameters it could be as high as 100%. The selection rules for
spin injection from allowed-allowed transitions are presented, and interband
spin-orbit coupling is found to play an important role.Comment: 12 pages including 7 figure
Control over topological insulator photocurrents with light polarization
Three-dimensional topological insulators represent a new quantum phase of
matter with spin-polarized surface states that are protected from
backscattering. The static electronic properties of these surface states have
been comprehensively imaged by both photoemission and tunneling spectroscopies.
Theorists have proposed that topological surface states can also exhibit novel
electronic responses to light, such as topological quantum phase transitions
and spin-polarized electrical currents. However, the effects of optically
driving a topological insulator out of equilibrium have remained largely
unexplored experimentally, and no photocurrents have been measured. Here we
show that illuminating the topological insulator Bi2Se3 with circularly
polarized light generates a photocurrent that originates from topological
helical Dirac fermions, and that reversing the helicity of the light reverses
the direction of the photocurrent. We also observe a photocurrent that is
controlled by the linear polarization of light, and argue that it may also have
a topological surface state origin. This approach may allow the probing of
dynamic properties of topological insulators and lead to novel opto-spintronic
devices.Comment: Accepted in Nature Nanotechnology, November 2 201
Do commonly used frailty models predict mortality, loss of autonomy and mental decline in older adults in northwestern Russia? A prospective cohort study
Characterization of macrodefects in pure silcon carbide films using X-ray topography and Raman scattering
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