Semiclassical theory of the photogalvanic effect in non-centrosymmetric systems

TL;DR

This paper develops a semiclassical framework to explain the nonlinear photogalvanic effect in non-centrosymmetric materials, highlighting the roles of Berry curvature and side jumps in generating dc currents under ac electric fields.

Contribution

It introduces a semiclassical theory that accounts for Berry curvature and side jumps in nonlinear transport, providing new insights into the photogalvanic effect mechanisms.

Findings

Berry curvature and side jumps induce dc currents quadratic in ac field amplitude.

Circular photogalvanic effect is primarily governed by Berry curvature terms.

Magnetic-field induced photogalvanic effect contributions are calculated.

Abstract

We develop a semiclassical theory of nonlinear transport and the photogalvanic effect in non-centrosymmetric media. We show that terms in semiclassical kinetic equations for electron motion which are associated with the Berry curvature and side jumps give rise to a dc current quadratic in the amplitude of the ac electric field. We demonstrate that the circular photogalvanic effect is governed by these terms in contrast to the linear photogalvanic effect and nonlinear I-V characteristics which are governed mainly by the skew scattering mechanism. In addition, the Berry curvature contribution to the magnetic-field induced photogalvanic effect is calculated.