Abstract
New technique for optical generation of ultrashort electrical pulses in semiconductor heterostructures is proposed. It is shown that in asymmetric quantum well structures placed in a transverse magnetic field, optically excited carriers have an asymmetrical distribution in k-vector space, and therefore, they have finite drift velocity in the direction perpendicular to both growth direction and field direction. It results in photogenerated voltage along the quantum well plane. The temporal response and sensitivity of the proposed scheme are evaluated, and possible applications are suggested in ultrafast detectors or as a tool for generation and study of hot carriers.
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