Electric currents induced by twisted light in quantum rings

We theoretically investigate the generation of electric currents in quantum rings resulting from the optical excitation with twisted light. Our model describes the kinetics of electrons in a two-band model of a semiconductor-based mesoscopic quantum ring coupled to light having orbital angular momen...

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Bibliographic Details
Authors: Quinteiro, Guillermo Federico, Berakdar, J.
Format: article
Status:Published version
Publication Date:2009
Country:Argentina
Institution:Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas
Repository:CONICET Digital (CONICET)
Language:English
OAI Identifier:oai:ri.conicet.gov.ar:11336/61212
Online Access:http://hdl.handle.net/11336/61212
Access Level:Open access
Keyword:quantum ring
twisted light
https://purl.org/becyt/ford/1.3
https://purl.org/becyt/ford/1
Description
Summary:We theoretically investigate the generation of electric currents in quantum rings resulting from the optical excitation with twisted light. Our model describes the kinetics of electrons in a two-band model of a semiconductor-based mesoscopic quantum ring coupled to light having orbital angular momentum (twisted light). We find the analytical solution, which exhibits a circular photon-drag effect and an induced magnetization, suggesting that this system is the circular analog of that of a bulk semiconductor excited by plane waves. For realistic values of the electric field and material parameters, the computed electric current can be as large as juA; from an applied perspective, this opens new possibilities to the optical control of the magnetization in semiconductors. © 2009 Optical Society of America.