Role of optical rectification in photon-assisted tunneling current

TL;DR

This study investigates optical rectification in a metallic tunnel junction under infrared illumination, revealing that heating and non-linearity, rather than photon-electron energy exchange, dominate the rectification process.

Contribution

It demonstrates that optical rectification in the studied junction is primarily due to non-linear effects and heating, challenging existing theories based on photon-electron energy exchange.

Findings

Photon-assisted tunneling does not align with Tucker theory predictions.

Illumination power mainly causes heating rather than direct photon-electron energy exchange.

Rectification is mainly due to the non-linearity of the tunnel junction at optical frequencies.

Abstract

We study the optical rectification in a metallic tunnel junction. We consider a planar junction in a Kretschmann configuration and measure the photon-assisted tunneling under infrared illumination at $\lambda= 1.5\, \mu \mathrm{m}$. To address the microscopic mechanism at the origin of the optical rectification, we compare the photon assisted current and the current-voltage characteristics of the junction measured on a voltage range much greater than $V_0=\frac{hc}{e\lambda}=0.825 \, \mathrm{V}$. The experimental results do not agree with the Tucker theory based on the exchange of energy quanta between electrons and photons and describing the dc current induced by photon-assisted processes in terms of a linear combination of the shifted characteristics $I(V)$ and $I(V\pm V_0)$. We show instead that the illumination power mainly goes into heating and that the rectification results mainly from the non-linearity of the tunnel junction at optical frequency.