Theory of strong-field injection and control of photocurrent in dielectrics and wide bandgap semiconductors

TL;DR

This paper develops a quantum-mechanical theory for optically-induced currents in dielectrics and wide-gap semiconductors, demonstrating phase-controlled electron dynamics and matching experimental observations.

Contribution

It introduces a self-consistent density matrix approach coupled with electric field modeling to explain phase-controlled photocurrents in wide bandgap materials.

Findings

Carrier-envelope phase controls electric current via quantum interference.

Numerical results agree with experimental data.

Analysis of band populations and polarization elucidates current mechanisms.

Abstract

We propose a theory of optically-induced currents in dielectrics and wide-gap semiconductors exposed to a non-resonant ultrashort laser pulse with a stabilized carrier-envelope phase. In order to describe strong-field electron dynamics, equations for density matrix have been solved self-consistently with equations for the macroscopic electric field inside the medium, which we model by a one-dimensional potential. We provide a detailed analysis of physically important quantities (band populations, macroscopic polarization, and transferred charge), which reveals that carrier-envelope phase control of the electric current can be interpreted as a result of quantum-mechanical interference of multiphoton excitation channels. Our numerical results are in good agreement with experimental data.