Terahertz (THz) technologies are promising for diverse areas such as medicine, bioengineering, astronomy, environmental monitoring, and communications. However, despite decades of worldwide efforts, the THz region of the electromagnetic spectrum still continues to be elusive for solid state technology. Here, we report on the development of a powerless, compact, broadband, flexible, large-area, and polarization-sensitive carbon nanotube THz detector that works at room temperature. The detector is sensitive throughout the entire range of the THz technology gap, with responsivities as high as ∼2.5 V/W and polarization ratios as high as ∼5:1. Complete thermoelectric and opto-thermal characterization together unambiguously reveal the photothermoelectric origin of the THz photosignal, triggered by plasmonic absorption and collective antenna effects, and suggest that judicious design of thermal management and quantum engineering of Seebeck coefficients will lead to further enhancement of device performance.

Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) have emerged as promising materials for visible, infrared, and terahertz photodetectors. Further development of these photodetectors requires a fundamental understanding of the mechanisms that govern their behavior as well as the establishment of figures of merit for technology applications. Recently, a number of CNT detectors have been shown to operate based on the photothermoelectric effect. Here we present a figure of merit for these detectors, which includes the properties of the material and the device. In addition, we use a suite of experimental characterization methods for the thorough analysis of the electrical, thermoelectric, electrothermal, and photothermal properties of the CNT thin-film devices. Our measurements determine the quantities that enter the figure of merit and allow us to establish a path toward future performance improvements.

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Nanostructured dopant-based silicon (Si) transistors are promising candidates for high-performance photodetectors and quantum information devices. For highly doped Si with donor bands, the energy depth of donor levels and the energy required for tunneling processes between donor levels are typically on the order of millielectron volts, corresponding to terahertz (THz) photon energy. Owing to these properties, highly doped Si quantum dots (QDs) are highly attractive as THz photoconductive detectors. Here, we demonstrate THz detection with a lithographically defined and highly phosphorus-doped Si QD. We integrate a 40 nm-diameter QD with a micrometer-scale broadband logarithmic spiral antenna for the detection of THz photocurrent in a wide frequency range from 0.58 to 3.11 THz. Furthermore, we confirm that the detection sensitivity is enhanced by a factor of ~880 compared to a QD detector without an antenna. These results demonstrate the ability of a highly doped-Si QD coupled with an antenna to detect broadband THz waves. By optimizing the dopant distribution and levels, further performance improvements are feasible.

A detailed analysis of micro-and nanoantennas is crucial for enhancing the performance of photodetectors in the mid-and far-infrared (IR) region. In contrast to the rapid progress in IR detectors based on nanodevices, the local nanoscale properties of antennas for the purpose of near-field coupling with these detectors have not been well investigated. In this work, we fabricated and studied a logarithm-spiral (logspiral) antenna with an arm termination, which was designed as a low-loss, wide-band antenna for highly efficient near-field interaction with nanoscale IR detectors. By using a scattering-type near-field optical microscope (s-SNOM) combined with a highly stable quantum cascade laser, we observed a nanoscale spatial distribution of amplitudes generated via IR illumination on the antenna surface. Experimental and simulated results revealed a clear dependence on IR-light polarization corresponding to the rotationally symmetric structure of the spiral antenna. Furthermore, phase mapping measurements indicated a π reversal of the out-of-plane phase between two adjacent antenna probes regardless of polarization direction, providing a possibility of efficient near-field coupling with nanoscale detectors. These results demonstrate that s-SNOM imaging offers a powerful tool for gaining useful information regarding mutual coupling between optical antennas and nanostructures.