Quantum interference control of currents in CdSe with a single optical beam
Abstract
We show that ballistic current generation can occur in a semiconductor via quantum interference between absorption pathways for orthogonal polarization components of a single-frequency beam. This effect occurs for a subset of noncentrosymmetric materials, is macroscopically associated with a second-order nonlinear optical susceptibility, and produces current injection linearly proportional to the beam intensity. We demonstrate this in wurtzite CdSe (Eg=1.75 eV) at 295 K using cw and femtosecond optical sources of wavelength 600–750 nm (2.07–1.66 eV). The intensity and spectral dependence are in reasonable agreement with a first-principles calculation. Continuous current density of 30 μA cm−2 is produced for 60 mW cm−2 intensity at 633 nm.
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Injection currents involve asymmetric carrier excitation in k-space with a net group velocity, due to helicity-dependent quantum interference between different polarization components of a circularly polarized excitation beam.
“Injection currents, on the other hand, involve asymmetric carrier excitation in -space with a net group velocity, due to helicity-dependent quantum interference between different polarization components of a circularly polarized excitation beam42,43.”
From Ultrafast terahertz emission from emerging symmetry-broken materials (2023) · cites this paper as [43]
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- Authors
- Laman, N., Shkrebtii, A. I., Sipe, J. E., & van Driel, H. M.
- Affiliations
- University of Toronto (CA)
- Department of Physics, University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada M5S 1A7
- Venue
- Applied Physics Letters
- Publisher
- AIP Publishing
- Published
- 1999-10-25
- Volume
- 75
- Issue
- 17
- Pages
- 2581-2583
- ISSN
- 0003-6951 (ISSN-L)
- 1077-3118
- OpenAlex
- W2038027819
- Cited by
- 62
- References
- 12
- Citations by year
- 2026: 3 · 2025: 3 · 2024: 1 · 2023: 3 · 2021: 4 · 2020: 1 · 2019: 4 · 2018: 2 · 2016: 1 · 2015: 2 · 2014: 2 · 2012: 1
- FWCI
- 1.57
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Applied Physics Letters (publishedVersion)
- Topics
- Physical Sciences › Physics and Astronomy › Atomic and Molecular Physics, and Optics › Semiconductor Quantum Structures and Devices
- Physical Sciences › Physics and Astronomy › Atomic and Molecular Physics, and Optics › Photorefractive and Nonlinear Optics
- Physical Sciences › Physics and Astronomy › Atomic and Molecular Physics, and Optics › Semiconductor materials and interfaces
- Keywords
- quantum interference, CdSe, second-order nonlinear susceptibility, polarization-dependent absorption, femtosecond laser excitation, current injection, wurtzite semiconductors
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