Transverse Photo-Voltage Induced by Circularly Polarized Light

Abstract

We discovered that when circularly polarized light is obliquely incident on a two-dimensional metallic photonic crystal slabs, electrical voltage is induced perpendicularly to the incident plane. Signal sign is reversed by changing the sense of polarization or incident angle. The origin of this transverse photo-induced voltage is explained in terms of the force linear in light intensity induced by the asymmetry brought by angular momentum of incident light.