2005/02/08 by Yuriy V. Pershin, Carlo Piermarocchi
Physics and Astronomy · #cond-mat.mes-hall
paper · pdf · doi:10.1063/1.1935747
published as Appl. Phys. Lett. 86, 212107 (2005)
arxiv created 2005/02/08 · arxiv updated 2009/12/01
We propose a mechanism for spin polarized photocurrent generation in quantum wires. The effect is due to the combined effect of Rashba spin-orbit interaction, external magnetic field and microwave radiation. The time-independent interactions in the wire give rise to a spectrum asymmetry in k-space. The microwave radiation induces transitions between spin-splitted subbands, and, due to the peculiar energy dispersion relation, charge and spin currents are generated at zero bias voltage. We demonstrate that the generation of pure spin currents is possible under an appropriate choice of external control parameters.