Photo-Nernst current in graphene

Photocurrent measurements provide a powerful means of studying the spatially resolved optoelectronic and electrical properties of a material or device(1-7). Generally speaking there are two classes of mechanism for photocurrent generation: those involving separation of electrons and holes, and thermoelectric effects driven by electron temperature gradients. Here we introduce a new member in the latter class: the photo-Nernst effect. In graphene devices in a perpendicular magnetic field we observe photocurrent generated uniformly along the free edges, with opposite sign at opposite edges. The signal is antisymmetric in field, shows a peak versus gate voltage at the neutrality point flanked by wings of opposite sign at low fields, and exhibits quantum oscillations at higher fields. These features are all explained by the Nernst effect(8-10) associated with laser-induced electron heating(6,11-14). This 'photo-Nernst' current provides a simple and clear demonstration of the Shockley-Ramo nature of long-range photocurrent generation in a gapless material(5).