Magneto-optics of electronic transport in nanowires

Effects of irradiation on the electronic conductance in nanowires, for field-free conditions and under the influence of applied longitudinal magnetic fields, were investigated. The nanowires were modeled within the free-electron framework with a parabolic (transverse) confining potential. Our results for the dependence of the photoconductance of irradiated nanowires on the photon energy and/or the strength of the applied magnetic field show that such measurements may be used as a magneto-optic spectroscopy for determination of (i) the electron Fermi energy, (ii) the electron effective mass, and (iii) the number of quantized modes in the nanowire. Such measurements may also be used to assess to what degree the electron transport through the nanowire is adiabatic. Furthermore, our results suggest a method for controlling and tuning electronic transport in nanowires via external electromagnetic fields.