Nitride based nanotransistors as new sources and detectors of THz radiations

The plasma waves in gated two‐dimensional electron gas have a linear dispersion law, similar to the sound waves. The transistor channel is acting as a resonator cavity for the plasma waves, which can reach frequencies in the Terahertz (THz) range for a sufficiently short gate length Field Effect Transistors (FETs). THz emission and detection by nanometer III‐V transistors have been recently reported. In this work we report on THz emission and detection by nanometer GaN/AlGaN HEMTs. In particular, we show that specific GaN properties allow to observe THz emission up to room temperature. (© 2008 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)