Helicity sensitive terahertz radiation detection by dual-grating-gate high electron mobility transistors

We report on the observation of a radiation helicity sensitive photocurrent excited by terahertz (THz) radiation in dual-grating-gate (DGG) InAlAs/InGaAs/InAlAs/InP high electron mobility transistors (HEMT). For a circular polarization the current measured between source and drain contacts changes its sign with the inversion of the radiation helicity. For elliptically polarized radiation the total current is described by superposition of the Stokes parameters with different weights. Moreover, by variation of gate voltages applied to individual gratings the photocurrent can be defined either by the Stokes parameter defining the radiation helicity or those for linear polarization. We show that artificial non-centrosymmetric microperiodic structures with a two-dimensional electron system excited by THz radiation exhibit a dc photocurrent caused by the combined action of a spatially periodic in-plane potential and spatially modulated light. The results provide a proof of principle for the application of DGG HEMT for all-electric detection of the radiation's polarization state.Comment: 7 pages, 4 figure

Cyclotron Resonance Assisted Photocurrents in Surface States of a 3D Topological Insulator Based on a Strained High Mobility HgTe Film

We report on the observation of cyclotron resonance induced photocurrents, excited by continuous wave terahertz radiation, in a 3D topological insulator (TI) based on an 80 nm strained HgTe film. The analysis of the photocurrent formation is supported by complimentary measurements of magneto-transport and radiation transmission. We demonstrate that the photocurrent is generated in the topologically protected surface states. Studying the resonance response in a gated sample we examined the behavior of the photocurrent, which enables us to extract the mobility and the cyclotron mass as a function of the Fermi energy. For high gate voltages we also detected cyclotron resonance (CR) of bulk carriers, with a mass about two times larger than that obtained for the surface states. The origin of the CR assisted photocurrent is discussed in terms of asymmetric scattering of TI surface carriers in the momentum space. Furthermore, we show that studying the photocurrent in gated samples provides a sensitive method to probe the effective masses and the mobility of 2D Dirac surface states, when the Fermi level lies in the bulk energy gap or even in the conduction band

Disentangling the conductivity spectra of two-dimensional organic conductors

The optical spectrum of a κ -phase organic conductor is thoroughly analyzed for the example of κ -(BEDT-TTF) 2 Cu [ N(CN) 2 ] Br 0.85 Cl 0.15 in order to identify its various contributions. It is shown how the complex spectra can be decomposed using different approaches; the intradimer and interdimer contributions are discussed. In particular the fingerprints of electronic correlations in these spectra are considered

Charge-transfer processes in radical ion molecular conductors κ-(BEDT-TTF)2Cu[N(CN)2]Br x Cl1 − x : The superconductor (x = 0.9) and the conductor with the metal-insulator transition (x = 0)

Optical spectral investigations of low-dimensional organic molecular conductors κ-(BEDT-TTF)2Cu[N(CN)2]Br x Cl1 − x with x = 0.9 (the superconductor with T c = 11.3 K) and x = 0 (the metal with the metal-insulator transition at T < 50 K) are performed in the range 50–6000 cm−1 (6 meV–0.74 eV) at temperatures from 300 to 20 K. The optical conductivity spectra are quantitatively analyzed in terms of the proposed model, according to which the charge transfer involves two types of charge carriers, i.e., electrons (holes) localized on clusters (dimers and tetramers formed by BEDT-TTF molecules) and quasi-free charge carriers, with the use of the tetramer “cluster“ model based on the Hubbard Hamiltonian for correlated electrons and the Drude model for quasi-free charge carriers. Physical parameters of the model, such as the energy of Coulomb repulsion between two electrons (holes) in one molecule, the transfer integrals between molecules inside the dimer and between dimers, and the electron-molecular vibration coupling constants, are determined. The anisotropy of the spectra in the conducting plane is explained. The inference is made that only electrons localized on clusters couple with intramolecular vibrations

Collective Charge Excitation in a Dimer Mott Insulating System

Charge dynamics in a dimer Mott insulating system, where a non-polar dimer-Mott (DM) phase and a polar charge-ordered (CO) phase compete with each other, are studied. In particular, collective charge excitations are analyzed in the three different models where the internal-degree of freedom in a dimer is taken into account. Collective charge excitation exists both in the non-polar DM phase and the polar CO phase, and softens in the phase boundary. This mode is observable by the optical conductivity spectra where the light polarization is parallel to the electric polarization in the polar CO phase. Connections between the present theory and the recent experimental results in kappa-(BEDT-TTF)2Cu2(CN)3 are discussed.Comment: 5 pages, 4 figure

Bandwidth-controlled Mott transition in κ−(BEDT−TTF)2Cu[N(CN)2]BrxCl1−x\kappa-(BEDT-TTF)_2 Cu [N(CN)_2] Br_x Cl_{1-x} I. Optical studies of localized charge excitations

Infrared reflection measurements of the half-filled two-dimensional organic conductors $\kappa$-(BEDT-TTF)$_2$Cu[N(CN)$_{2}$]Br$_{x}$Cl$_{1-x}$ were performed as a function of temperature ($5 {\rm K}<T<300$ K) and Br-substitution ($x=0$, 40%, 73%, 85%, and 90%) in order to study the metal-insulator transition. We can distinguish absorption processes due to itinerant and localized charge carriers. The broad mid-infrared absorption has two contributions: transitions between the two Hubbard bands and intradimer excitations from the charges localized on the (BEDT-TTF)$_2$ dimer. Since the latter couple to intramolecular vibrations of BEDT-TTF, the analysis of both electronic and vibrational features provides a tool to disentangle these contributions and to follow their temperature and electronic-correlations dependence. Calculations based on the cluster model support our interpretation.Comment: 12 pages, 12 figure

Bandwidth-controlled Mott transition in kappa-(BEDT-TTF)2Cu[N(CN)2]Br{x}Cl{1-x}: Optical studies of correlated carriers

In the two-dimensional organic charge-transfer salts kappa-(BEDT-TTF)2Cu[N(CN)2]Br{x}Cl{1-x} a systematic variation of the Br content from x = 0 to 0.9 allows us to tune the Mott transition by increasing the bandwidth. At temperatures below 50 K, an energy gap develops in the Cl-rich samples and grows to approximately 1000 cm-1 for T -> 0. With increasing Br concentration spectral weight shifts into the gap region and eventually fills it up completely. As the samples with x = 0.73, 0.85 and 0.9 become metallic at low temperatures, a Drude-like response develops due to the coherent quasiparticles. Here, the quasiparticle scattering rate shows a omega^2 dependence and the effective mass of the carriers is enhanced in agreement with the predictions for a Fermi liquid. These typical signatures of strong electron-electron interactions are more pronounced for compositions close to the critical value x_c \approx 0.7 where the metal-to-insulator transition occurs.Comment: 11 pages, 12 figure

Photoexcitation-Energy-Dependent Transition Pathways from a Dimer Mott Insulator to a Metal

We theoretically study pump-photon-energy-dependent pathways of a photoinduced dimer-Mott-insulator-to-metal transition, on the basis of numerical solutions to the time-dependent Schr\"odinger equation for the exact many-body wave function of a two-dimensional three-quarter-filled extended Peierls-Hubbard model. When molecular degrees of freedom inside a dimer are utilized, photoexcitation can weaken the effective interaction or increase the density of photocarriers. In the organic dimer Mott insulator, $\kappa$-(BEDT-TTF)$_2$Cu[N(CN)$_2$]Br, the intradimer and the interdimer charge-transfer excitations have broad bands that overlap with each other. Even in this disadvantageous situation, the photoinduced conductivity change depends largely on the pump photon energy, confirming the two pathways recently observed experimentally. The characteristic of each pathway is clarified by calculating the modulation of the effective interaction and the number of carriers involved in low-energy optical excitations. The pump-photon-energy-dependent pathways are confirmed to be realized from the finding that, although the effective interaction is always and slowly weakened, the introduction of carriers is sensitive to the pump-photon energy and proceeds much faster.Comment: 5 pages, 4 figures, accepted for publication in J. Phys. Soc. Jp