Zhen-Guo Fu

Terahertz quantum well photodetectors with reflection-grating couplers

The design, fabrication, and characterization of terahertz (THz) quantum well photodetectors with one-dimensional reflection-grating coupler are presented. It is found that the reflection gratings could effectively couple the THz waves normally incident to the device. Compared with the 45-degree facet sample, the peak responsivity of this grating-coupled detector is enhanced by over 20%. The effects of the gratings on the photocurrent spectra are also analyzed.

Magnetic quantum oscillations in a monolayer graphene under a perpendicular magnetic field

The de Haas-van Alphen (dHvA) oscillations of electronic magnetization in a monolayer graphene with structure-induced spin-orbit interaction (SOI) are studied. The results show that the dHvA oscillating centre in this system deviates from the well known (zero) value in a conventional two-dimensional electron gas. The inclusion of SOI will change the well-defined sawtooth pattern of magnetic quantum oscillations and result in a beating pattern. In addition, the SOI effects on Hall conductance and magnetic susceptibility are also discussed.

Aharonov-Bohm oscillations in the local density of topological surface states

We study Aharonov-Bohm (AB) oscillations in the local density of states (LDOS) for topological insulator (TI) and conventional metal Au(111) surfaces with spin-orbit interaction, which can be probed by spin-polarized scanning tunneling microscopy. We show that the spacial AB oscillatory period in the total LDOS is a flux quantum Φ0 = hc/e (weak localization) in both systems. Remarkably, an analogous weak antilocalization with Φ0/2 periodic spacial AB oscillations in spin components of LDOS for TI surface is observed, while it is absent in Au(111).

Frequency Up-Conversion Photon-Type Terahertz Imager

Terahertz imaging has many important potential applications. Due to the failure of Si readout integrated circuits (ROICs) and the thermal mismatch between the photo-detector arrays and the ROICs at temperatures below 40 K, there are big technical challenges to construct terahertz photo-type focal plane arrays. In this work, we report pixel-less photo-type terahertz imagers based on the frequency up-conversion technique. The devices are composed of terahertz quantum-well photo-detectors (QWPs) and near-infrared (NIR) light emitting diodes (LEDs) which are grown in sequence on the same substrates using molecular beam epitaxy. In such an integrated QWP-LED device, photocurrent in the QWP drives the LED to emit NIR light. By optimizing the structural parameters of the QWP-LED, the QWP part and the LED part both work well. The maximum values of the internal and external energy up-conversion efficiencies are around 20% and 0.5%. A laser spot of a homemade terahertz quantum cascade laser is imaged by the QWP-LED together with a commercial Si camera. The pixel-less imaging results show that the image blurring induced by the transverse spreading of photocurrent is negligible. The demonstrated pixel-less imaging opens a new way to realize high performance terahertz imaging devices.

Quantum corrals and quantum mirages on the surface of a topological insulator

We study quantum corrals on the surface of a topological insulator (TI). Different resonance states induced by nonmagnetic (NM), antiferromagnetic (AFM), and ferromagnetic (FM) corrals are found. Intriguingly, the spin is clearly energy-resolved in a FM corral, which can be effectively used to operate surface carrier spins of TI. We also show that an observable quantum mirage of a magnetic impurity can be projected from the occupied into the empty focus of a FM elliptic corral, while in NM and AFM corrals the mirage signal becomes negligibly weak. In addition, the modulation of the interaction between two magnetic impurities in the quantum corrals is demonstrated. These prominent effects may be measured by spin-polarized STM experiments.

Terahertz Quantum Well Photodetectors With Metal-Grating Couplers

In this paper, terahertz (THz) quantum well photodetectors (QWPs) with metal-grating couplers are presented for normal-incident operation. Both one-dimensional and two-dimensional grating samples were fabricated. The photocurrent spectra and the peak responsivity were characterized. The effects of the grating period, fill factor, and shape of the grating patch were investigated. It is found that metal gratings are simple but efficient couplers for THz QWPs, and compared with the 45°-incident facet sample, the peak responsivity of the THz QWP with the optimum grating coupler is improved by 146%.

Optical-phonon-mediated photocurrent in terahertz quantum-well photodetectors

Strong and sharp photocurrent peak at longitudinal optical (LO) phonon frequency (8.87 THz) is found in GaAs/(Al,Ga)As terahertz quantum-well photodetectors (QWPs). Two mesa-structure terahertz QWPs with and without one-dimensional metal grating are fabricated to investigate the behavior of such photoresponse peak. The experimental and simulation results indicate that the photocurrent peak originates from a two-step process. First, at the LO phonon frequency, a large number of non-equilibrium LO phonons are excited by the incident electromagnetic field, and the electromagnetic energy is localized and enhanced in the thin multi-quantum-well layer. Second, through the Frohlich interaction, the localized electrons are excited to continuum states by absorbing the non-equilibrium LO phonons, which leads to the strong photoresponse peak. This finding is useful for exploring strong light-matter interaction and realizing high sensitive terahertz photodetectors.

Magnetoexcitons and optical absorption of bilayer-structured topological insulators

The optical absorption properties of magnetoexcitons in topological insulator bilayers under a strong magnetic field are theoretically studied. A general analytical formula of optical absorption selection rule is obtained in the noninteracting as well as Coulomb intra-Landau-level (LL) interacting cases, which remarkably helps to interpret the resonant peaks in absorption spectroscopy and the corresponding formation of Dirac-type magnetoexcitons. We also discuss the optical absorption spectroscopy of magnetoexcitons in the presence of inter-Landau-level Coulomb interaction, which becomes more complex. We hope our results can be detected in the future magneto-optical experiments.

Quasiparticle states and quantum interference induced by magnetic impurities on a two-dimensional topological superconductor

We theoretically study the effect of localized magnetic impurities on two-dimensional topological superconductor (TSC). We show that the local density of states (LDOS) can be tuned by the effective exchange field m, the chemical potential μ of TSC, and the distance Δr as well as the relative spin angle α between two impurities. The changes in Δr between two impurities alter the interference and result in significant modifications to the bonding and antibonding states. Furthermore, the bound-state spin LDOS induced by single and double magnetic impurity scattering, the quantum corrals and the quantum mirages are also discussed. Finally, we briefly compare the impurities in TSC with those in topological insulators.

Anisotropic Fabry-Pérot resonant states confined within nano-steps on the topological insulator surface

The peculiar nature of topological surface states, such as absence of backscattering, weak anti-localization, and quantum anomalous Hall effect, has been demonstrated mainly in bulk and film of topological insulator (TI), using surface sensitive probes and bulk transport probes. However, it is equally important and experimentally challenging to confine massless Dirac fermions with nano-steps on TI surfaces. This potential structure has similar ground with linearly-dispersed photons in Fabry-Pérot resonators, while reserving fundamental differences from well-studied Fabry-Pérot resonators and quantum corrals on noble metal surfaces. In this paper, we study the massless Dirac fermions confined within steps along the x (Γ–K) or y (Γ–M) direction on the TI surface, and the Fabry-Pérot-like resonances in the electronic local density of states (LDOS) between the steps are found. Due to the remarkable warping effect in the topological surface states, the LDOS confined in the step-well running along Γ-M direction exhibit anisotropic resonance patterns as compared to those in the step-well along Γ-K direction. The transmittance properties and spin orientation of Dirac fermion in both cases are also anisotropic in the presence of warping effect.