Inverse Faraday effect in conducting crystals caused by a broken mirror symmetry

Abstract

We consider how the absense of mirror crystal symmetry influences electron kinetics of polar metals, semiconductors, asymmetric semiconductor heterostructures as well as some layered antipyroelectric high- T c compounds. We find that illumination of such crystals by circularly polarized infrared light should induce a permanent spin orientation of current carriers in an amount proportional to i c( c·ε×ε ∗) , where ε is the polarization vector and c is a unit vector directed either along the polar or antipyroelectric axis or perpendicular to the semiconductor heterostructure.