Beyond the effective mass approximation: predictive theory of the nonlinear optical response of conduction electrons
Abstract
We present an experimental and computational study of the nonlinear optical response of conduction electrons to intense terahertz (THz) electric field. Our observations (saturable absorption and an amplitude-dependent group refractive index) can be understood on the qualitative level as the breakdown of the effective mass approximation. However, a predictive theoretical description of the nonlinearity has been missing. We propose a model based on the semiclassical electron dynamics, a realistic band structure, and the free electron Drude parameters to accurately calculate the experimental observables in InSb. Our results open a path to predictive modeling of the conduction-electron optical nonlinearity in semiconductors, metamaterials, as well as high-field effects in THz plasmonics.
Keywords
Cite
@article{arxiv.1609.08773,
title = {Beyond the effective mass approximation: predictive theory of the nonlinear optical response of conduction electrons},
author = {Shukai Yu and Kate H. Heffernan and Diyar Talbayev},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:1609.08773},
year = {2017}
}