Highly efficient carrier heating after light absorption
leads to ultrafast (<50 fs) photovoltage creation
(April 14, 2015) The
efficient conversion of light into electricity plays a crucial role in many
technologies, ranging from cameras to solar cells. It also forms an essential
step in data communication applications, since it allows for information
carried by light to be converted into electrical information that can be
processed in electrical circuits. Graphene is an excellent material for
ultrafast conversion of light to electrical signals, but so far it was not
known how fast graphene responds to ultrashort flashes of light.