Publications Repository - Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf

While the carrier dynamics in graphene in absence of magnetic fields is well researched in a large spectral range ranging from UV to THz, the dynamics in Landau quantized graphene is almost unexplored. We investigate the carrier dynamics within the system of Landau levels (LLs) of index n = -1, n = 0 and n = 1 by pump-probe experiments complemented by microscopic modelling. Using circularly polarized terahertz radiation (at 18 THz) allows one to selectively excite the two energetically degenerate transitions LL-1 → LL0 and LL0 → LL1, respectively (at B  4 T). While three of the four possible configurations give intuitive results (bleaching, when pumping and probing with the same polarization, induced absorption with opposite polarizations), surprisingly, one configuration counterintuitively leads to bleaching while pumping and probing with opposite polarizations (Fig. 1 lower panel). This implies that even though LL0 is being optically pumped, its population decreases [1] ! Calculations show that LL0 is actually depleted by strong Auger scattering. Note that the two configurations shown in the Figure are distinguishable only because of the slight (n-type) doping of the graphene sample.
We discuss the role of carrier-carrier and carrier-phonon scattering in Landau quantized graphene and provide an outlook on the application potential of this system for tunable THz lasers.