Controlling ultrafast currents by the non-linear photogalvanic effect

Abstract

We theoretically investigate the effect of broken inversion symmetry on the generation and control of ultrafast currents in a transparent dielectric (SiO2) by strong femto-second optical laser pulses. Ab-initio simulations based on time-dependent density functional theory predict ultrafast DC currents that can be viewed as a non-linear photogalvanic effect. Most surprisingly, the direction of the current undergoes a sudden reversal above a critical threshold value of laser intensity I_c ~ 3.8*10^13 W/cm2. We trace this switching to the transition from non-linear polarization currents to the tunneling excitation regime. We demonstrate control of the ultrafast currents by the time delay between two laser pulses. We find the ultrafast current control by the non-linear photogalvanic effect to be remarkably robust and insensitive to laser-pulse shape and carrier-envelope phase.

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• Spatio-temporal dynamics of shift current quantum pumping by femtosecond light pulse
• Quantum-trajectory analysis for charge transfer in solid materials induced by strong laser fields
• Photocurrent generation in solids via linearly polarized laser
• Ab initio insights on the ultrafast strong-field dynamics of anatase TiO${}_2$
• Photovoltaic Effect from the Viewpoint of Time-reversal Symmetry