Magnetic bulk photovoltaic effect as a probe of magnetic structures of EuSn2As2

Abstract

The bulk photovoltaic effect (BPVE) is a second-order optical process in noncentrosymmetric materials that converts the light into DC currents. BPVE is classified into shift current and injection current according to the generation mechanisms and their dependence on the polarization of light is sensitive to the spatial and time-reversal symmetry of materials. In this work, we present a comprehensive study on the BPVE response of EuSn2As2 with different magnetic structures through symmetry analysis and first-principles calculation. We demonstrate that the interlayer antiferromagnetic (AFM) EuSn2As2 of even-layer breaks the inversion symmetry and has the second-order optical responses. Moreover, the bilayer AFM EuSn2As2 not only displays distinct BPVE responses when magnetic moments align in different directions, but also shows symmetry-related responses in two phases which have mutually perpendicular in-plane magnetic moments. Due to the dependence of BPVE responses on the polarization of light and magnetic symmetry, these magnetic structures can be distinguished by the circular polarized light with well-designed experiments. Our work demonstrates the feasibility of the BPVE response as a tool to probe the magnetic structure.