1D-modulated plasmonic Dirac systems: Towards helicity-driven terahertz photovoltaics

The focus of the project lies on the exploration of terahertz (THz) radiation induced electron transport in nanostructures with linear energy dispersion. The project, bringing together the expertise of five experimental and theoretical groups of the German-Russian consortium, aims at getting insight into the origin of helicity driven photovoltaic effects in 1D periodic modulated Dirac fermion systems. In particularly, we plan to explore the physics of helicity driven effects in plasmonic crystals of different geometries, current induced instabilities in these systems as well as effects of plasmonic interference. The research is focused on graphene lateral superlattices as well as on HgTe based topological insulators (TIs) and Dirac fermion systems. The work should define the limits of existing high frequency electronics and uncover new physical phenomena, thus extending the scope of future THz optoelectronic devices, in particular with respect to the development of an all-electric detector of the radiation Stokes parameters.