186 research outputs found
Opto-Electronic Characterization of Three Dimensional Topological Insulators
We demonstrate that the terahertz/infrared radiation induced photogalvanic
effect, which is sensitive to the surface symmetry and scattering details, can
be applied to study the high frequency conductivity of the surface states in
(Bi1-xSbx)2Te3 based three dimensional (3D) topological insulators (TI). In
particular, measuring the polarization dependence of the photogalvanic current
and scanning with a micrometre sized beam spot across the sample, provides
access to (i) topographical inhomogeneity's in the electronic properties of the
surface states and (ii) the local domain orientation. An important advantage of
the proposed method is that it can be applied to study TIs at room temperature
and even in materials with a high electron density of bulk carriers.Comment: 6 pages, 4 figure
Distinction between the Poole-Frenkel and tunneling models of electric field-stimulated carrier emission from deep levels in semiconductors
The enhancement of the emission rate of charge carriers from deep-level defects in electric field is routinely used to determine the charge state of the defects. However, only a limited number of defects can be satisfactorily described by the Poole-Frenkel theory. An electric field dependence different from that expected from the Poole-Frenkel theory has been repeatedly reported in the literature, and no unambiguous identification of the charge state of the defect could be made. In this article, the electric field dependencies of emission of carriers from DX centers in AlxGa1-xAs:Te, Cu pairs in silicon, and Ge:Hg have been studied applying static and terahertz electric fields, and analyzed by using the models of Poole-Frenkel and phonon assisted tunneling. It is shown that phonon assisted tunneling and Poole-Frenkel emission are two competitive mechanisms of enhancement of emission of carriers, and their relative contribution is determined by the charge state of the defect and by the electric-field strength. At high-electric field strengths carrier emission is dominated by tunneling independently of the charge state of the impurity. For neutral impurities, where Poole-Frenkel lowering of the emission barrier does not occur, the phonon assisted tunneling model describes well the experimental data also in the low-field region. For charged impurities the transition from phonon assisted tunneling at high fields to Poole-Frenkel effect at low fields can be traced back. It is suggested that the Poole-Frenkel and tunneling models can be distinguished by plotting logarithm of the emission rate against the square root or against the square of the electric field, respectively. This analysis enables one to unambiguously determine the charge state of a deep-level defect
Spin photocurrents and circular photon drag effect in (110)-grown quantum well structures
We report on the study of spin photocurrents in (110)-grown quantum well
structures. Investigated effects comprise the circular photogalvanic effect and
so far not observed circular photon drag effect. The experimental data can be
described by an analytical expression derived from a phenomenological theory. A
microscopic model of the circular photon drag effect is developed demonstrating
that the generated current has spin dependent origin.Comment: 6 pages, 3 figure
Spin currents in diluted magnetic semiconductors (extended version)
Spin currents resulting in the zero-bias spin separation have been observed
in unbiased diluted magnetic semiconductor structures (Cd,Mn)Te/(Cd,Mg)Te. The
pure spin current generated due to the electron gas heating by terahertz
radiation is converted into a net electric current by application of an
external magnetic field. We demonstrate that polarization of the magnetic ion
system enhances drastically the conversion due to the spin-dependent scattering
by localized Mn(2+) ions and the giant Zeeman splitting.Comment: 6 pages, 4 figure
Magneto-gyrotropic effects in semiconductor quantum wells (review)
Magneto-gyrotropic photogalvanic effects in quantum wells are reviewed. We
discuss experimental data, results of phenomenological analysis and microscopic
models of these effects. The current flow is driven by spin-dependent
scattering in low-dimensional structures gyrotropic media resulted in asymmetry
of photoexcitation and relaxation processes. Several applications of the
effects are also considered.Comment: 28 pages, 13 figure
Orbital mechanism of the circular photogalvanic effect in quantum wells
It is shown that the free-carrier (Drude) absorption of circularly polarized
radiation in quantum well structures leads to an electric current flow. The
photocurrent reverses its direction upon switching the light helicity. A pure
orbital mechanism of such a circular photogalvanic effect is proposed that is
based on interference of different pathways contributing to the light
absorption. Calculation shows that the magnitude of the helicity dependent
photocurrent in -doped quantum well structures corresponds to recent
experimental observations.Comment: 5 pages, 2 figures, to be published in JETP Letter
Current-induced Spin Polarization in Two-Dimensional Hole Gas
We investigate the current-induced spin polarization in the two-dimensional
hole gas (2DHG) with the structure inversion asymmetry. By using the
perturbation theory, we re-derive the effective -cubic Rashba Hamiltonian
for 2DHG and the generalized spin operators accordingly. Then based on the
linear response theory we calculate the current-induced spin polarization both
analytically and numerically with the disorder effect considered. We have found
that, quite different from the two-dimensional electron gas, the spin
polarization in 2DHG depends linearly on Fermi energy in the low doping regime,
and with increasing Fermi energy, the spin polarization may be suppressed and
even changes its sign. We predict a pronounced peak of the spin polarization in
2DHG once the Fermi level is somewhere between minimum points of two spin-split
branches of the lowest light-hole subband. We discuss the possibility of
measurements in experiments as regards the temperature and the width of quantum
wells.Comment: 13 pages, 8 figures, submitted to PR
All-electric detectors of the polarization state of terahertz laser radiation (extended version)
Two types of room temperature detectors of terahertz laser radiation have
been developed which allow in an all-electric manner to determine the plane of
polarization of linearly polarized radiation and the ellipticity of
elliptically polarized radiation, respectively. The operation of the detectors
is based on photogalvanic effects in semiconductor quantum well structures of
low symmetry. The photogalvanic effects have sub-nanosecond time constants at
room temperature making a high time resolution of the polarization detectors
possible
Electron and Hole Spin Splitting and Photogalvanic Effect in Quantum Wells
A theory of the circular photogalvanic effect caused by spin splitting in
quantum wells is developed. Direct interband transitions between the hole and
electron size-quantized subbands are considered. It is shown that the
photocurrent value and direction depend strongly on the form of the spin-orbit
interaction. The currents induced by structure-, bulk-, and interface-inversion
asymmetry are investigated. The photocurrent excitation spectra caused by spin
splittings in both conduction and valence bands are calculated.Comment: 7 pages, 3 figure
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