Realization of gigahertz-frequency impedance matching circuits for nano-scale devices Appl. Phys. Lett. 101, 053108 (2012) Synchronization of a renewable energy inverter with the grid J. Renewable Sustainable Energy 4, 043103 (2012) Monolithic high-temperature superconducting heterodyne Josephson frequency down-converter Appl. Phys. Lett. 100, 262604 (2012) Generation of pure phase and amplitude-modulated signals at microwave frequencies Rev. Sci. Instrum. 83, 064705 (2012) Additional information on J. Appl. Phys. This review is focused on the latest developments in continuous-wave (CW) photomixing for Terahertz (THz) generation. The first part of the paper explains the limiting factors for operation at high frequencies $ 1 THz, namely transit time or lifetime roll-off, antenna (R)-device (C) RC rolloff, current screening and blocking, and heat dissipation. We will present various realizations of both photoconductive and p-i-n diode-based photomixers to overcome these limitations, including perspectives on novel materials for high-power photomixers operating at telecom wavelengths (1550 nm). In addition to the classical approach of feeding current originating from a small semiconductor photomixer device to an antenna (antenna-based emitter, AE), an antennaless approach in which the active area itself radiates (large area emitter, LAE) is discussed in detail. Although we focus on CW photomixing, we briefly discuss recent results for LAEs under pulsed conditions. Record power levels of 1.5 mW average power and conversion efficiencies as high as 2 Â 10 À3 have been reached, about 2 orders of magnitude higher than those obtained with CW antenna-based emitters. The second part of the paper is devoted to applications for CW photomixers. We begin with a discussion of the development of novel THz optics. Special attention is paid to experiments exploiting the long coherence length of CW photomixers for coherent emission and detection of THz arrays. The long coherence length comes with an unprecedented narrow linewidth. This is of particular interest for spectroscopic applications, the field in which THz research has perhaps the highest impact. We point out that CW spectroscopy systems may potentially be more compact, cheaper, and more accurate than conventional pulsed systems. These features are attributed to telecom-wavelength compatibility, to excellent frequency resolution, and to their huge spectral density. The paper concludes with prototype experiments of THz wireless LAN applications. For future telecommunication systems, the limited bandwidth of photodiodes is inadequate for further upshifting carrier frequencies. This, however, will soon be required for increased data throughput. The implementation of telecom-wavelength compatible photomixing diodes for down-conversion of an optical carrier signal to a (sub-)THz RF signal will be required.

Direct electrostatic toner marking with poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene)polystyrenesulfonate bilayer devices J. Appl. Phys. 112, 074506 (2012) Modeling the effect of top gate voltage on the threshold of a double gate organic field effect transistor J. Appl. Phys. 112, 073704 (2012) Electron transporting water-gated thin film transistors Appl. Phys. Lett. 101, 141603 (2012) Impact of gate resistance in graphene radio frequency transistors Appl. Phys. Lett. 101, 143503 (2012) Physical-gap-channel graphene field effect transistor with high on/off current ratio for digital logic applications Transistors operating well above the frequencies at which they have gain can still rectify terahertz currents and voltages, and have attracted interest as room-temperature terahertz detectors. We show that such rectifying field-effect transistors may still be treated as a lumped element device in the limit where plasma resonances of the electron gas do not occur. We derive analytic formulas for important transistor parameters, such as effective rectification length and device impedance using a transmission-line model. We draw conclusions for plasma-resonant detection where possible. We derive the THz response of a field-effect transistor with a two-dimensional electrongas channel by a Taylor expansion of the drain-source bias. We connect circuit theory to the existing theories that describe the bias in the gated region by differential equations. Parasitic effects, such as the access resistance, are included. With the approach presented in this paper, we derive the responsivity for a novel field detector that mixes a (THz) signal applied between gate and source with another signal applied between drain and source in homodyne or heterodyne operation mode. We further derive expressions for the expected noise-equivalent power (NEP) in direct detection and mixing mode, including parasitic effects, and find that sub-pW= ffiffiffiffiffiffi Hz p should be achievable for realistic device and material parameters for direct detection and less than 900 K noise temperature for mixing at 10 lW local oscillator power.

We measured a change in the current transport of an antenna-coupled, multi-gate, GaAs/AlGaAs field-effect transistor when terahertz electromagnetic waves irradiated the transistor and attribute the change to bolometric heating of the electrons in the two-dimensional electron channel. The observed terahertz absorption spectrum indicates coherence between plasmons excited under adjacent biased device gates. The experimental results agree quantitatively with a theoretical model we developed that is based on a generalized plasmonic transmission line formalism and describes an evolution of the plasmonic spectrum with increasing electron density modulation from homogeneous to the crystal limit. These results demonstrate an electronically induced and dynamically tunable plasmonic band structure.

To date, exploiting the full bandwidth of state-of-the-art InGaAs photomixers for generation and detection of continuous-wave (CW) THz radiation (typ.~50 GHz to~3 THz) required complex and costly external-cavity diode lasers with motorized resonator control. Distributed feedback (DFB) lasers, by contrast, are compact and inexpensive, but the tuning range per diode is limited to~600 GHz at 1.5 μm. In this paper, we show that a combination of three DFB diodes covers the complete frequency range from 0-2750 GHz without any gaps. In combination with InGaAs-based photomixers for terahertz generation and detection, the system achieves a dynamic range of > 100 dB at 56 GHz, 64 dB at 1000 GHz, and 26 dB at 2500 GHz. A field-programmable gate array (FPGA)-based lock-in amplifier permits a flexible adjustment of the integration time from 0.5 ms to 600 ms. Employing an optimized "fast scan" mode, a spectrum of~1200 GHzthe bandwidth of each subset of two lasersand 40 MHz steps is acquired in less than one minute, still maintaining a reasonable dynamic range. To the best of our knowledge, the bandwidth of 2.75 THz presents a new record for DFB-based CW-terahertz systems.