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arXiv · 1608.01854

Sub-cycle optical control of current in a semiconductor: from the multiphoton to the tunneling regime

Tim Paasch-Colberg·Stanislav Yu. Kruchinin·Özge Sağlam·Stefan Kapser·Stefano Cabrini·Sascha Muehlbrandt·Joachim Reichert·Johannes V. Barth·Ralph Ernstorfer·Reinhard Kienberger·Vladislav S. Yakovlev·Nicholas Karpowicz·Agustin Schiffrin
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Abstract

Nonlinear interactions between ultrashort optical waveforms and solids can be used to induce and steer electric current on a femtosecond (fs) timescale, holding promise for electronic signal processing at PHz frequencies [Nature 493, 70 (2013)]. So far, this approach has been limited to insulators, requiring extremely strong peak electric fields and intensities. Here, we show all-optical generation and control of directly measurable electric current in a semiconductor relevant for high-speed and high-power (opto)electronics, gallium nitride (GaN), within an optical cycle and on a timescale shorter than 2 fs, at intensities at least an order of magnitude lower than those required for dielectrics. Our approach opens the door to PHz electronics and metrology, applicable to low-power (non-amplified) laser pulses, and may lead to future applications in semiconductor and photonic integrated circuit technologies.

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Tim Paasch-Colberg, Stanislav Yu. Kruchinin, Özge Sağlam, Stefan Kapser, Stefano Cabrini, Sascha Muehlbrandt, Joachim Reichert, Johannes V. Barth, Ralph Ernstorfer, Reinhard Kienberger, Vladislav S. Yakovlev, Nicholas Karpowicz, Agustin Schiffrin. 2016-08-05. Sub-cycle optical control of current in a semiconductor: from the multiphoton to the tunneling regime. https://doi.org/10.1364/optica.3.001358

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