Semiconductor nanowire (NW) cavities with tailorable optical modes have been used to develop nanoscale oscillators and amplifiers in microlasers, sensors, and single photon emitters. The resonance modes of NW could be tuned by different boundary conditions. However, continuously and reversibly adjusting resonance modes and improving Q-factor of the cavity remain a great challenge. We report a method to modulate resonance modes continuously and reversibly and improve Q-factor based on surface plasmon-exciton interaction. By placing single Ag nanoparticle (NP) nearby a CdS NW, we show that the wavelength and relative intensity of the resonance modes in the NW cavity can systematically be tuned by adjusting the relative position of the Ag NP. We further demonstrate that a 56% enhancement of Q-factor and an equivalent π-phase shift of the resonance modes can be achieved when the Ag NP is located near the NW end. This hybrid cavity has potential applications in active plasmonic and photonic nanodevices.

Asymmetry in the dark current low frequency noise characteristics of B-B and B-C quantum well infrared photodetectors from 10 to 80 K Dark current mechanisms of terahertz quantum-well photodetectors (THz QWPs) are systematically investigated experimentally and theoretically by measuring two newly designed structures combined with samples reported previously. In contrast to previous investigations, scattering-assisted tunneling dark current is found to cause significant contributions to total dark current. A criterion is also proposed to determine the major dark current mechanism at different peak response frequencies. We further determine background limited performance (BLIP) temperatures, which decrease both experimentally and theoretically as the electric field increases. This work gives good description of dark current mechanism for QWPs in the THz region and is extended to determine the transition fields and BLIP temperatures with response peaks from 3 to 12 THz. V C 2014 AIP Publishing LLC. [http://dx.

In this paper, we propose using a terahertz quantumwell photodetector (THz QWP) in combination with a terahertz source to realize a detection system with photon-noise limited performance (PLIP) at high temperatures. Systematical investigations on the high-temperature performances of THz QWPs, including required signal power density for PLIP, detectivity, and the signalto-noise ratio, have been carried out by elaborating their dark current mechanism and photocurrent response both experimentally and theoretically. We also present the optimal doping concentration of THz QWPs designed for different peak wavelengths and the resulting optimum performance regarding the above three key parameters. Numerical results show that optimal designed QWP with peak response frequency of 5.5 THz is expected to achieve PLIP at 77 K at signal power density at 819 W/cm and above. This work gives a precise description of PLIP performance of THz QWPs and will open ways for new applications for high-temperature detection in the THz regime.Index Terms-High temperature, optimal design, photon-noiselimited, quantum-well photodetectors (QWPs), Terahertz (THz).

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