Magnetic ratchet effects in a two-dimensional electron gas

Abstract

The effect of the magnetic field on the generation of an electric current in a two-dimensional electronic ratchet is theoretically studied. Mechanisms of the formation of magnetically induced photocurrent are proposed for a structure with a two-dimensional electron gas (quantum well, graphene, or topological insulator) with a lateral asymmetric superlattice consisting of metallic strips on the external surface of the structure. The ratchet with the spatially oscillating magnetic field generated by the ferromagnetic lattice, as well as the nonmagnetic ratchet placed in the uniform magnetic field both classically weak and strong quantizing, is considered. It is established that the ratio of the amplitude of the magnetic oscillations of photocurrent to the ratchet photocurrent in zero field can exceed two orders of magnitude.