It is shown that, in semiconductor plasmas, it is possible to generate large amplitude plasma waves by the beating of two laser beams with a frequency difference close to the plasma frequency. For narrow-gap semiconductors (for example n-type InSb), the system can simulate the physics underlying beat-wave generation in relativistic gaseous plasmas.

• Received 26 September 1996

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevB.55.9247