Gintaras Valušis

Resonant and voltage-tunable terahertz detection in InGaAs∕InP nanometer transistors

The authors report on detection of terahertz radiation by high electron mobility nanometer InGaAs∕AlInAs transistors. The photovoltaic type of response was observed at the 1.8–3.1THz frequency range, which is far above the cutoff frequency of the transistors. The experiments were performed in the temperature range from 10to80K. The resonant response was observed and was found to be tunable by the gate voltage. The resonances were interpreted as plasma wave excitations in the gated two-dimensional electron gas. The minimum noise equivalent power was estimated, showing possible application of these transistors in sensing of terahertz radiation.

Field Effect Transistors for Terahertz Detection: Physics and First Imaging Applications

Resonant frequencies of the two-dimensional plasma in FETs increase with the reduction of the channel dimensions and can reach the THz range for sub-micron gate lengths. Nonlinear properties of the electron plasma in the transistor channel can be used for the detection and mixing of THz frequencies. At cryogenic temperatures resonant and gate voltage tunable detection related to plasma waves resonances is observed. At room temperature, when plasma oscillations are overdamped, the FET can operate as an efficient broadband THz detector. We present the main theoretical and experimental results on THz detection by FETs in the context of their possible application for THz imaging.

Oblique modes effect on terahertz plasma wave resonant detection in InGaAs/InAlAs multichannel transistors

We report on the demonstration of narrow terahertz plasma wave resonant detection at low temperature in 200nm gate length InGaAs∕InAlAs multichannel high electron mobility transistors. We observe that the resonant detection linewidth is smaller than in full channel high electron mobility transistors. We interpret this shrinking by the effect of multichannel geometry that does not allow oblique plasma mode propagation along the channel.

Electromagnetic shielding efficiency in Ka-band: carbon foam versus epoxy/carbon nanotube composites

Abstract. The wide application of microwaves stimulates searching for new materials with high electrical conductivity and electromagnetic (EM) interference shielding effectiveness (SE). We conducted a comparative study of EM SE in Ka-band demonstrated by ultra-light micro-structural porous carbon solids (carbon foams) of different bulk densities, 0.042 to 0.150  g/cm3, and conventional flexible epoxy resin filled with carbon nanotubes (CNTs) in small concentrations, 1.5 wt.%. Microwave probing of carbon foams showed that the transmission through a 2 mm-thick layer strongly decreases with decreasing the pore size up to the level of 0.6%, due to a rise of reflectance ability. At the same time, 1 mm thick epoxy/CNT composites showed EM attenuation on the level of only 66% to 37%. Calculating the high-frequency axial CNTs’ polarizability on the basis of the idea of using CNT as transmission lines, we devised a strategy to improve the EM SE of CNT-based composites: because of the high EM screening of inner shells of multi-walled CNTs in the GHz range, it is effective to use either single-walled CNT or multi-walled CNTs with a relatively small number of walls (up to 15, i.e., those taking part in the EM interaction, if the CNT length is 20 μm).

Terahertz spectroscopic identification of explosive and drug simulants concealed by various hiding techniques.

Terahertz time-domain spectroscopy and imaging is used to study the effects of various hiding techniques of spectral features of drug and explosive simulants in combination with different paper and textile barriers. Results show that rapid detection and identification of concealed simulants is possible in the frequency range from 1.5 to 4.0 THz by using an organic-crystal-based terahertz time-domain system and the spectral peak analysis method.

High dielectric permittivity of percolative composites based on onion-like carbon

The broadband dielectric properties of the onion-like carbon (OLC) and polyurethane based composites of different compositions are presented for the frequency range of 20 Hz–3 GHz and 250–450 K temperatures. It is shown that an abrupt increase in the complex dielectric permittivity at the volume fraction of OLC 10% is associated with the onset of percolation. The revealed critical exponent and percolation point reasonably agree with theoretically predicted values. Composites with 10% of OLC exhibit dielectric permittivity as high as 2000 and conductivity as high as 0.01 S/m at 100 Hz.

Terahertz heterodyne imaging with InGaAs-based bow-tie diodes

Room-temperature detection and imaging in transmission and reflection geometries at 0.591 THz with planar asymmetrically shaped InGaAs diodes (also called bow-tie diodes) are demonstrated in direct and heterodyne mode. The sensitivity of the diodes is found to be 6 V/W in direct mode, and the noise-equivalent power (NEP) in direct and heterodyne mode is estimated to be about 4 nW/Hz and 230 fW/Hz for a local-oscillator power of 11 μW, respectively. The improvement of the dynamic range by heterodyning over direct power detection amounts to about 20 dB using pixel read-out times relevant to real-time imaging conditions.

Antenna-coupled field-effect transistors for multi-spectral terahertz imaging up to 4.25 THz

We demonstrate for the first time the applicability of antenna-coupled field-effect transistors for the detection of terahertz radiation (TeraFETs) for multi-spectral imaging from 0.76 to 4.25 THz. TeraFETs were fabricated in a commercial 90-nm CMOS process and noise-equivalent powers of 59, 20, 63, 85 and 110 pW/√(Hz) at 0.216, 0.59, 2,52, 3.11 and 4.25 THz, respectively, have been achieved. A set of TeraFETs has been applied in raster-scan transmission and reflection imaging of pellets of sucrose and tartaric acid simulating common plastic explosives. Transmittance values are in good agreement with Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy data. The spatial distribution of the components in the samples has been determined from the transmission data using principal component analysis.

Carbon Onion Composites for EMC Applications

A novel lightweight onion-like carbon (OLC)-based polymer composite with high electromagnetic (EM) shielding properties is presented. OLC have been produced via the large-scale production technology based on the annealing of detonation nanodiamond under vacuum conditions (or in inert atmosphere). EM shielding effectiveness has been tested in the frequency range of 26-37 GHz. The highest EM attenuation at 36.6 GHz reaching -34 dB was observed for polymethylmethacrylate films comprising 20 wt.% of OLC. The shielding effectiveness data collected for microwave frequencies were found to correlate well with the electrical resistivity measurements by four-probe method as well as conductivity measurements provided by the broadband dielectric spectroscopy (20 Hz-3 GHz). It was proved experimentally that OLC EM shielding capacity can be optimized by varying the nanoonion cluster size and nanodiamond annealing temperature so that effective EM coatings can be produced. Both the experimental observations and theoretical simulations demonstrate that even small (smaller than percolation threshold) additions of OLC particles to a polymer host can noticeably modify the composite response to EM radiation.

Room temperature imaging at 1.63 and 2.54 THz with field effect transistor detectors

GaAs nanometric field effect-transistors are used for room temperature single-pixel imaging using radiation frequencies above 1 THz. Images obtained in transmission mode at 1.63 THz are recorded using transistors operating in a photovoltaic mode with spatial resolution of 300 μm and voltage sensitivity of about 8 mV/W. A reduction in response with increasing frequency was observed and mitigated by the application of a source-drain current, leading to the demonstration of imaging at up to 2.54 THz.