Second-harmonic generation induced by electric currents in GaAs

Abstract

We demonstrate a new, nonlinear optical effect of electric currents. First, a steady current is generated by applying a voltage on a doped GaAs crystal. We demonstrate that this current induces second-harmonic generation of a probe laser pulse. Second, we optically inject a transient current in an undoped GaAs crystal by using a pair of ultrafast laser pulses, and demonstrate that it induces the same second-harmonic generation. In both cases, the induced second-order nonlinear susceptibility is proportional to the current density. This effect can be used for nondestructive, noninvasive, and ultrafast imaging of currents. These advantages are illustrated by the real-time observations of a coherent plasma oscillation and spatial resolution of current distribution in a device. This new effect also provides a mechanism for electrical control of the optical response of materials.

5 pages, 3 figures

References in corpus (4)

• Observation of second-harmonic generation induced by pure spin currents
• Second-order nonlinear optical effects of spin currents
• All-optical generation and detection of sub-picosecond ac spin current pulses in GaAs
• Mode coupling and evolution in broken-symmetry plasmas

Cited by in corpus (17)

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• Current-induced second harmonic generation in inversion-symmetric Dirac and Weyl semimetals
• High-harmonic generation by electric polarization, spin current, and magnetization
• Linear and Nonlinear Optical Responses in Kitaev Spin Liquids
• Electrically tunable second harmonic generation in atomically thin ReS2
• Supercurrent-induced topological phase transitions
• Photocurrent-driven transient symmetry breaking in the Weyl semimetal TaAs
• Second harmonic generation due to spatial structure of radiation beam
• High-harmonic generation in graphene under the application of a DC electric current: From perturbative to nonperturbative regimes
• The momentum-resolved and time-resolved two-color optical coherence absorption spectrum in the scattering process
• Two-color laser control of photocurrent and high harmonics in graphene
• Controlling inversion and time-reversal symmetries by subcycle pulses in the one-dimensional extended Hubbard model
• Optical effects of spin currents in semiconductors
• The drag of photons by electric current in quantum wells
• Nonlinear frequency-asymmetric optical response in chiral systems