Attosecond quantum current switching

In the last decade, advancements in ultrafast and attosecond sciences have provided access and

permitted control of the electronic structures and electron motion in condensed matter (1) .

Accordingly, the generation of an optically induced current has been demonstrated in different

materials (2, 3) . These developments facilitate the establishment of ultrafast optoelectronics.

Here, we report the generation of photoinduced and field-induced qunatum tunneling currents in

graphene field-effect transistor by ultrafast laser pulses in an ambient environment (4) . We used

the capability of combining the photoinduced and DC currents in our transistor to demonstrate

various logic gates. Moreover, we examined the effect of the number of the photoexcited charge

carriers on both the photoinduced current and the increase in the phototransistor conductivity. In

addition, we measured the field-induced instantaneous quantum tunnel current, which followed

the driver waveform of the pump laser pulse. Hence, we could switch the current ON and OFF

on a 630- attosecond (~1.6 PHz speed) time scale, demonstrating a petahertz phototransistor (4) .

This ultrafast switch was attained under standard room temperature and pressure conditions.

Therefore, the demonstrated petahertz phototransistor is at the technology readiness level

suitable for its immediate integration into the development of ultrafast—nearly six orders of

magnitude faster—optical transistors, lightweight electronics, and optical computers (5) . This

approach has significant potential in our rapidly advancing information technology and digital

era.