Some materials are transparent to light of a certain frequency. When such light is shone on them, electrical currents can still be generated, contrary to previous assumptions.
Scientists from Leipzig University and Nanyang Technological University in Singapore have managed to prove this. The scientists have published their findings in the journal Physical Review Letters.
Inti Sodemann Villadiego, Professor at the Institute of Theoretical Physics at Leipzig University commented, “This opens new paradigms for constructing opto-electronic and photovoltaic devices, such as light amplifiers, sensors and solar cells.”
His colleague Li-kun Shi added, “It is possible to drive electric currents by light even when the material has a vanishingly small absorption of such light. This is an important new insight.”
Inti Sodemann Villadiego and his colleagues investigated what are known as “Floquet Fermi liquid” states.
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