  It is shown that the excitation of charge carriers by ac electric field with
zero average driving leads to a direct electric current in quantum well
structures. The current emerges for both linear and circular polarization of
the ac electric field and depends on the field polarization and frequency. We
present a micoscopic model and an analytical theory of such a nonlinear
electron transport in quantum wells with structure inversion asymmetry. In such
systems, dc current is induced by ac electric field which has both the in-plane
and out-of-plane components. The ac field polarized in the interface plane
gives rise to a direct current if the quantum well is subjected to an in-plane
static magnetic field.
