Rectifying the Optical-Field-Induced Current in Dielectrics: Petahertz Diode

Phys Rev Lett. 2016 Feb 5;116(5):057401. doi: 10.1103/PhysRevLett.116.057401. Epub 2016 Feb 3.

Abstract

Investigating a theoretical model of the optical-field-induced current in dielectrics driven by strong few-cycle laser pulses, we propose an asymmetric conducting of the current by forming a heterojunction made of two distinct dielectrics with a low hole mass (m_{h}^{*}≪m_{e}^{*}) and low electron mass (m_{e}^{*}≪m_{h}^{*}), respectively. This proposition introduces the novel concept of a petahertz (10^{15} Hz) diode to rectify the current in the petahertz domain, which should be a key ingredient for the electric signal manipulation of future light-wave electronics. Further, we suggest the candidate dielectrics for the heterojunction.