Direct current generation due to wave mixing in semiconductors

TL;DR

This paper reports a new phenomenon where mixing electromagnetic waves in semiconductors generates direct current, driven by nonparabolic electron energy bands, with calculations performed for various semiconductor models.

Contribution

It introduces a novel effect of wave mixing-induced direct current in semiconductors, analyzed through the Kane and tight-binding models.

Findings

Direct current generation depends on wave mixing and band nonparabolicity.

The effect is stronger in systems with greater nonparabolicity.

Exact calculations confirm the theoretical predictions.

Abstract

We describe a novel effect of the generation of direct current which may arise in semiconductors or semiconductor microstructures due to a mixing of coherent electromagnetic radiations of commensurate frequencies. The effect is, in essence, due to a nonparabolicity of the electron energy bands and is stronger in systems where this nonparabolicity is greater. We have made exact calculations in the framework of the Kane model, applicable to narrow gap semiconductors and the tight-binding model which we employ for a description of a semiconductor superlattice.