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Register a new userSensitive Room-Temperature Terahertz Detection via Photothermoelectric Effect in Graphene
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Terahertz (THz) radiation has uses from security to medicine; however, sensitive room-temperature detection of THz is notoriously difficult. The hot-electron photothermoelectric effect in graphene is a promising detection mechanism: photoexcited carriers rapidly thermalize due to strong electron-electron interactions, but lose energy to the lattice more slowly. The electron temperature gradient drives electron diffusion, and asymmetry due to local gating or dissimilar contact metals produces a net current via the thermoelectric effect. Here we demonstrate a graphene thermoelectric THz photodetector with sensitivity exceeding 10 V/W (700 V/W) at room temperature and noise equivalent power less than 1100 pW/Hz^1/2 (20 pW/Hz^1/2), referenced to the incident (absorbed) power. This implies a performance which is competitive with the best room-temperature THz detectors for an optimally coupled device, while time-resolved measurements indicate that our graphene detector is eight to nine orders of magnitude faster than those. A simple model of the response, including contact asymmetries (resistance, work function and Fermi-energy pinning) reproduces the qualitative features of the data, and indicates that orders-of-magnitude sensitivity improvements are possible.
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The unique optoelectronic properties of graphene [1] make it an ideal platform for a variety of photonic applications [2], including fast photodetectors [3], transparent electrodes [4], optical modulators [5], and ultra-fast lasers [6]. Owing to its high carrier mobility, gapless spectrum, and frequency-independent absorption coefficient, it has been recognized as a very promising element for the development of detectors and modulators operating in the Terahertz (THz) region of the electromagnetic spectrum (wavelengths in the hundreds of micrometers range), which is still severely lacking in terms of solid-state devices. Here we demonstrate efficient THz detectors based on antenna-coupled graphene field-effect transistors (FETs). These exploit the non-linear FET response to the oscillating radiation field at the gate electrode, with contributions of thermoelectric and photoconductive origin. We demonstrate room temperature (RT) operation at 0.3 THz, with noise equivalent power (NEP) levels < 30 nW/Hz^(1/2), showing that our devices are well beyond a proof-of-concept phase and can already be used in a realistic setting, enabling large area, fast imaging of macroscopic samples.
Graphene is considered as a promising platform for detectors of high-frequency radiation up to the terahertz (THz) range due to graphene$$s superior electron mobility. Previously it has been shown that graphene field effect transistors (FETs) exhibit room temperature broadband photoresponse to incoming THz radiation thanks to the thermoelectric and/or plasma wave rectification. Both effects exhibit similar functional dependences on the gate voltage and therefore it was found to be difficult to disentangle these contributions in the previous studies. In this letter, we report on combined experimental and theoretical studies of sub-THz response in graphene field-effect transistors analyzed at different temperatures. This temperature-dependent study allowed us to reveal the role of photo-thermoelectric effect, p-n junction rectification, and plasmonic rectification in the sub-THz photoresponse of graphene FETs.
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.
Although the detection of light at terahertz (THz) frequencies is important for a large range of applications, current detectors typically have several disadvantages in terms of sensitivity, speed, operating temperature, and spectral range. Here, we use graphene as a photoactive material to overcome all of these limitations in one device. We introduce a novel detector for terahertz radiation that exploits the photothermoelectric (PTE) effect, based on a design that employs a dual-gated, dipolar antenna with a gap of 100 nm. This narrow-gap antenna simultaneously creates a pn junction in a graphene channel located above the antenna and strongly concentrates the incoming radiation at this pn junction, where the photoresponse is created. We demonstrate that this novel detector has an excellent sensitivity, with a noise-equivalent power of 80 pW-per-square-root-Hz at room temperature, a response time below 30 ns (setup-limited), a high dynamic range (linear power dependence over more than 3 orders of magnitude) and broadband operation (measured range 1.8-4.2 THz, antenna-limited), which fulfills a combination that is currently missing in the state-of-the-art detectors. Importantly, on the basis of the agreement we obtained between experiment, analytical model, and numerical simulations, we have reached a solid understanding of how the PTE effect gives rise to a THz-induced photoresponse, which is very valuable for further detector optimization.
Optical excitation and subsequent decay of graphene plasmons can produce a significant increase in charge-carrier temperature. An efficient method to convert this temperature elevation into a measurable electrical signal at room temperature can enable important mid-infrared applications such as thermal sensing and imaging in ubiquitous mobile devices. However, as appealing as this goal might be, it is still unrealized due to the modest thermoelectric coefficient and weak temperature-dependence of carrier transport in graphene. Here, we demonstrate mid-infrared graphene detectors consisting of arrays of plasmonic resonators interconnected by quasi one-dimensional nanoribbons. Localized barriers associated with disorder in the nanoribbons produce a dramatic temperature dependence of carrier transport, thus enabling the electrical detection of plasmon decay in the nearby graphene resonators. We further realize a device with a subwavelength footprint of 5*5 um2 operating at 12.2 um, an external responsivity of 16 mA/W, a low noise-equivalent power of 1.3 nW/Hz1/2 at room temperature, and an operational frequency potentially beyond gigahertz. Importantly, our device is fabricated using large-scale graphene and possesses a simple two-terminal geometry, representing an essential step toward the realization of on-chip graphene mid-infrared detector arrays.
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