[paper] TFETs for sensitive THz detection

I. Gayduchenko^1,2, S.G. Xu^3,4, G. Alymov¹, M. Moskotin^2,1, I. Tretyakov⁵, T. Taniguchi⁶, K.Watanabe⁷, G. Goltsman⁸, A.K. Geim^3,4, G. Fedorov^1,2, D. Svintsov¹, and D.A. Bandurin^3,1

Tunnel field-effect transistors for sensitive terahertz detection

arXiv:2010.03040 (2020)

¹Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology (National Research University), Dolgoprudny 141700, Russia
²Physics Department, Moscow Pedagogical State University, Moscow, 119435, Russia
³School of Physics, University of Manchester, Oxford Road, Manchester M13 9PL, United Kingdom
⁴National Graphene Institute, University of Manchester, Manchester M13 9PL, United Kingdom
⁵Astro Space Center, Lebedev Physical Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow 117997, Russia
⁶International Center for Materials Nanoarchitectonics, National Institute of Material Science, Tsukuba 305-0044, Japan
⁷Research Center for Functional Materials, National Institute of Material Science, Tsukuba 305-0044, Japan
⁸National Research University Higher School of Economics, Moscow, 101000, Russia

Abstract: The rectification of high-frequency electromagnetic waves to direct currents is a crucial process for energy harvesting, beyond 5G wireless communications, ultra-fast science, and observational astronomy. As the radiation frequency is raised to the sub-terahertz (THz) domain, efficient ac-to-dc conversion by conventional electronics becomes increasingly challenging and requires alternative rectification protocols. Here we address this challenge by tunnel field-effect transistors made of dual-gated bilayer graphene (BLG). Taking advantage of BLG’s electrically tunable band structure, we create a lateral tunnel junction and couple it to a broadband antenna exposed to THz radiation. The incoming radiation is then down-converted by strongly non-linear interband tunneling mechanisms, resulting in exceptionally high-responsivity (exceeding 3kV/W) and low-noise (0.2pW/Hz−−−√)  detection at cryogenic temperatures. We demonstrate how the switching from intraband Ohmic to interband tunneling regime within a single detector can raise its responsivity by one order of magnitude, in agreement with the developed theory. Our work demonstrates an unexpected application of interband tunnel transistors for high-frequency detection and reveals bilayer graphene as one of the most promising platforms therefor.

Fig: Overview of THz detectors. NEP for THz detectors of various types plotted against the temperature at which they operate. Vertical error bars represent the spread of the detectors’ performance over the frequency range 0.1−2 THz. Horizontal error bars show the temperature range at which the detectors operate.  

Acknowledgements: This work was supported by the Russian Foundation for Basic Research within Grants No. 18-37-20058 and No. 18-29-20116. Experimental work of IG (photoresponse measurements) was supported by the Russian Foundation for Basic Research (grant 19-32-80028). We acknowledge support of the Russian Science Foundation grant No. 19-72-10156 (NEP analyses) and grant No.17-72-30036 (transport measurements). The work of GA and DS (theory of THz detection) was supported by grant # 16-19-10557 of the Russian Scientific Foundation. K.W. and T.T. acknowledge support from the Elemental Strategy Initiative conducted by the MEXT, Japan, Grant Number JPMXP0112101001, JSPS KAKENHI Grant Number JP20H00354 and the CREST(JPMJCR15F3), JST. The authors thank A. Lisauskas, W. Knap, A. I. Berdyugin and M.S. Shur for helpful discussions.