No Arabic abstract
Resonant frequencies of the two-dimensional plasma in FETs increase with the reduction of the channel dimensions and can reach the THz range for sub-micron gate lengths. Nonlinear properties of the electron plasma in the transistor channel can be used for the detection and mixing of THz frequencies. At cryogenic temperatures resonant and gate voltage tunable detection related to plasma waves resonances, is observed. At room temperature, when plasma oscillations are overdamped, the FET can operate as an efficient broadband THz detector. We present the main theoretical and experimental results on THz detection by FETs in the context of their possible application for THz imaging.
Detectors of high-frequency radiation based on high-electron-mobility transistors benefit from low noise, room-temperature operation, and the possibility to perform radiation spectroscopy using gate-tunable plasmon resonance. Despite successful proof-of-concept demonstrations, the responsivity of transistor-based detectors of THz radiation, at present, remains fairly poor. To resolve this problem, we propose a class of devices supporting singular plasmon modes, i.e. modes with strong electric fields near keen electrodes. A large plasmon-enhanced electric field results in amplified non-linearities, and thus efficient ac-to-dc conversion. We analyze sub-terahertz detectors based on a two-dimensional electron system (2DES) in the Corbino geometry as a prototypical and exactly solvable model and show that the responsivity scales as $1/r_0^{2}$ with the radius of the inner contact $r_0$. This enables responsivities exceeding 10 kV/W at sub-THz frequencies for nanometer-scale contacts readily accessible by modern nanofabrication techniques.
Within the two antenna model, we develop a theory of the recently observed helicity-sensitive detection of terahertz radiation by FETs. The effect arises because of the mixing of the ac signals produced in the channel by the two antennas. We calculate the helicity-dependent part of the photoresponse and its dependence on the antenna impedance, gate length, and gate voltage.
We present estimates of the performance limits of terahertz detectors based on the field effect transistors (FET) in the regime of broadband detection. The maximal responsivity is predicted for short-channel FETs in the subthreshold regime. We also calculate the conversion efficiency Q of the device defined as the ratio of the power dissipated by radiation-induced dc current to the THz dissipated power. We show that Q has an absolute maximum as a function of two variables: the power and the frequency of the incoming radiation. The maximal value of Q is on the order of 10%
This is a brief overview of the main physical ideas for application of field effect transistors for generation and detection of TeraHertz radiation. Resonant frequencies of the two-dimensional plasma oscillations in FETs increase with the reduction of the channel dimensions and reach the THz range for sub-micron gate lengths. When the mobility is high enough, the dynamics of a short channel FET at THz frequencies is dominated by plasma waves. This may result, on the one hand, in a spontaneous generation of plasma waves by a dc current and on the other hand, in a resonant response to the incoming radiation. In the opposite case, when plasma oscillations are overdamped, the FET can operate as an efficient broadband THz detector.
We propose a method of constructing cold atom analogs of the spintronic device known as the Datta-Das transistor (DDT), which despite its seminal conceptual role in spintronics, has never been successfully realized with electrons. We propose two alternative schemes for an atomic DDT, both of which are based on the experimental setup for tripod stimulated Raman adiabatic passage. Both setups involve atomic beams incident on a series of laser fields mimicking the relativistic spin orbit coupling for electrons that is the operating mechanism of the DDT.