Enhanced Terahertz detection in self-switching diodes

✍ Scribed by I. Iñiguez-de-la-Torre; J. Mateos; D. Pardo; A. M. Song; T. González

• Book ID: 102907583
• Publisher: John Wiley and Sons
• Year: 2009
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 716 KB
• Volume: 23
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 0894-3370
• DOI: 10.1002/jnm.731

✦ Synopsis

Abstract

In this work, by means of Monte Carlo simulations, we analyze the presence of a resonance in the DC current response of an asymmetric nonlinear nanodiode (called self‐switching diode) to AC voltage excitations in the Terahertz range. The phenomenon, which takes place at room temperature, can be enhanced and tuned by the geometry of the device, being potentially useful for selective Terahertz detection. The resonance is linked to a noise mechanism: collective charge fluctuations in the space‐charge region around the active channel of the device, which are visible both in noise and rectification. The enhancement of the DC current is attributed to the phase shift between the applied signal and the response of the charge around the channel near the vertical trenches, which controls the electron flow through the diode. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.