Abstract
Dynamic control over the conduction band electrons of a semiconductor is a central technological pursuit. Beyond electronic circuitry, flexible control over the spatial and temporal character of semiconductor currents enables precise spatiotemporal structuring of magnetic fields. Despite their importance in science and technology, the control of magnetic fields at the micrometre spatial scale and femtosecond temporal scale using conventional electromagnets remains challenging. Here, we apply structured light beams to interfering photoexcitation pathways in gallium arsenide to sculpt the spatial and momentum configuration of its conduction band population. Programmable control over several hundred micrometre-scale current elements is achieved by manipulating the wavefronts of an optical beam using a spatial light modulator, enabling vast flexibility in the excited current patterns. Using this platform, we demonstrate dynamic optoelectronic interconnects, circuits for spatially tailored magnetic fields and magnetic field lattices.
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The raw data that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.
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Acknowledgements
This research was supported by the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) Discovery Grant Program (P.B.C.), the Canada Research Chairs Program (P.B.C.), the United States Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (‘Topological Excitations in Electronics (TEE)’, agreement #D18AC00011, P.B.C.) and the United States Army Research Office (award no. W911NF-19-1-0211, P.B.C.).
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P.B.C., F.K. and S.S. conceived the idea. K.J., K.R.H. and S.S. performed the measurements. S.S. analysed the data and wrote the first draft of the manuscript. P.B.C. and S.S. supervised the experiments. All authors discussed the results and contributed to the manuscript.
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Peer review information Nature Photonics thanks Andrea Alu, Andrew Forbes and the other, anonymous, reviewer(s) for their contribution to the peer review of this work.
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Jana, K., Herperger, K.R., Kong, F. et al. Reconfigurable electronic circuits for magnetic fields controlled by structured light. Nat. Photon. 15, 622–626 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41566-021-00832-9
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41566-021-00832-9
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