Ratchet effect study in Si/SiGe heterostructures in the presence of asymmetrical antidots for different polarizations of microwaves.

In this work, we studied the photovoltage response of an antidot lattice to microwave radiation for different antidot parameters. The study was carried out in a Si/SiGe heterostructure by illuminating the antidot lattice with linearly polarized microwaves and recording the polarity of induced photovoltage for different angles of incidence. Our study revealed that with increased antidot density and etching depth, the polarity of induced photovoltage changed when the angle of incidence was rotated 90 degrees. In samples with large antidot density and/or a deeply etched antidot lattice, scattering was dominated by electron interaction with the asymmetrical potential created by semicircular antidots. The strong electron-electron interaction prevailed in other cases. Our study provides insight into the mechanism of interaction between microwaves and electrons in an antidot lattice, which is the key for developing an innovative ratchet-based device. Moreover, we present an original and fundamental example of antidot lattice etching through the use of a two-dimensional electron gas. This system deals with a hole lattice instead of an electron depletion in the antidot lattice region.