Photogalvanic effect and photoconductance in a quantum channel with a single short-range scatterer

TL;DR

This paper investigates how electromagnetic radiation influences electron transport in a quantum channel with a single short-range scatterer, revealing asymmetry-induced photocurrent and oscillatory behavior of photoconductance.

Contribution

It introduces a generalized Landauer-Buttiker approach to analyze the photogalvanic effect in quantum channels with a single scatterer, highlighting the role of asymmetry and oscillations.

Findings

Asymmetrical scatterer position induces direct photocurrent.

Photocurrent and photoconductance oscillate with electron chemical potential.

Oscillations depend on scatterer position and radiation frequency.

Abstract

The influence of electromagnetic radiation on the electron transport in a quantum channel with a single short-range scatterer is investigated using a generalized Landauer-Buttiker approach. We have shown that asymmetrical position of the scatterer leads to appearance of the direct photocurrent in the system. The dependence of the photocurrent on the electron chemical potential, the position of the scatterer, and the frequency of the radiation is studied. We have shown that the photocurrent and the photoconductance oscillate as functions of the electron chemical potential. The nature of oscillations is discussed.