22 research outputs found
Magneto-Gyrotropic Photogalvanic Effects in Semiconductor Quantum Wells
We show that free-carrier (Drude) absorption of both polarized and
unpolarized terahertz radiation in quantum well (QW) structures causes an
electric photocurrent in the presence of an in-plane magnetic field.
Experimental and theoretical analysis evidences that the observed photocurrents
are spin-dependent and related to the gyrotropy of the QWs. Microscopic models
for the photogalvanic effects in QWs based on asymmetry of photoexcitation and
relaxation processes are proposed. In most of the investigated structures the
observed magneto-induced photocurrents are caused by spin-dependent relaxation
of non-equilibrium carriers