Ultrafast photothermoelectric effect in Dirac semimetallic Cd3As2 revealed by terahertz emission

Wei Lu, Zipu Fan, Yunkun Yang, Junchao Ma, Jiawei Lai, Xiaoming Song, Xiao Zhuo, Zhaoran Xu, Jing Liu, Xiaodong Hu, Shuyun Zhou, Faxian Xiu, Jinluo Cheng and Dong Sun ()
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Wei Lu: Tianjin University
Zipu Fan: Peking University
Yunkun Yang: Fudan University
Junchao Ma: Peking University
Jiawei Lai: Peking University
Xiaoming Song: Tianjin University
Xiao Zhuo: Peking University
Zhaoran Xu: Peking University
Jing Liu: Tianjin University
Xiaodong Hu: Tianjin University
Shuyun Zhou: Tsinghua University
Faxian Xiu: Fudan University
Jinluo Cheng: Changchun Institute of Optics, Fine Mechanics and Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences
Dong Sun: Peking University

Nature Communications, 2022, vol. 13, issue 1, 1-9

Abstract: Abstract The thermoelectric effects of topological semimetals have attracted tremendous research interest because many topological semimetals are excellent thermoelectric materials and thermoelectricity serves as one of their most important potential applications. In this work, we reveal the transient photothermoelectric response of Dirac semimetallic Cd3As2, namely the photo-Seebeck effect and photo-Nernst effect, by studying the terahertz (THz) emission from the transient photocurrent induced by these effects. Our excitation polarization and power dependence confirm that the observed THz emission is due to photothermoelectric effect instead of other nonlinear optical effect. Furthermore, when a weak magnetic field (~0.4 T) is applied, the response clearly indicates an order of magnitude enhancement on transient photothermoelectric current generation compared to the photo-Seebeck effect. Such enhancement supports an ambipolar transport nature of the photo-Nernst current generation in Cd3As2. These results highlight the enhancement of thermoelectric performance can be achieved in topological Dirac semimetals based on the Nernst effect, and our transient studies pave the way for thermoelectric devices applicable for high field circumstance when nonequilibrium state matters. The large THz emission due to highly efficient photothermoelectric conversion is comparable to conventional semiconductors through optical rectification and photo-Dember effect.

Date: 2022
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DOI: 10.1038/s41467-022-29168-w

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