Light Induced Hall effect in semiconductors with spin-orbit coupling

TL;DR

This paper predicts a light-induced Hall effect in semiconductors with spin-orbit coupling, where circularly polarized light and a weak electric field generate a transverse Hall current due to quantum interference effects.

Contribution

It introduces the concept of a light-induced Hall effect resulting from quantum interference in spin-orbit coupled semiconductors, with calculations for specific materials and structures.

Findings

Light induces a Hall current transverse to the electric field.

The effect is due to quantum interference between light and electric field.

Calculations show the effect in GaAs and quantum well structures.

Abstract

We show that optically excited electrons by a circularly polarized light in a semiconductor with spin-orbit coupling subject to a weak electric field will carry a Hall current transverse to the electric field. This light induced Hall effect is a result of quantum interference of the light and the electric field, and can be viewed as a physical consequence of the spin current induced by the electric field. The light induced Hall conductance is calculated for the p-type GaAs bulk material, and the n-type and p-type quantum well structures.