Abstract
The generation and control of a photocurrent in a semiconductor using two phase-related (coherently controlled) beams1-3 is not only intellectually appealing but may also offer the potential for new devices without the need for external DC bias. Recently Dupont et al.,4 using 10.6 and 5.3 μm infrared beams, demonstrated phase-controlled currents in AlGaAs symmetrical quantum wells. As Baranova and colleagues1 pointed out earlier, such a symmetry-breaking mechanism occurs since the time-average cube of the total electric field is nonzero. Here we show that it is also possible to direct photocurrents in a semiconductor by breaking the material symmetry, such as by employing asymmetrical quantum wells (AQWs). We have calculated the current generation rate for a particular class of double-asymmetrical AQWs, for which the effect should be strong and compare the current generation rate with that for the coherently controlled process.
© 1996 Optical Society of America
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