Coherent THz detection via ultrafast dynamics of hot Dirac fermions in graphene

Abstract

Graphene has recently been shown to exhibit ultrafast conductivity modulation due to periodic carrier heating by either terahertz (THz) waves, leading to self-induced harmonic generation, or the intensity beat-note of two-color optical radiation. We exploit the latter to realize an optoelectronic photomixer for coherent, continuous-wave THz detection, based on a photoconductive antenna with multilayer graphene in the gap. While for biased THz emitters, the dark current would pose a serious detriment for performance, we show that this is not the case for bias-free THz detection, and demonstrate a detection bandwidth of at least 700 GHz at room temperature, even without optimized tuning of the doping. We account for the photocurrent and photomixing response using detailed simulations of the time-dependent carrier distribution, which also indicate significant potential for enhancement of the sensitivity, to become competitive with well-established semiconductor photomixers.