We probe the electron transport properties in the shell of GaAs/In0.2Ga0.8As core/shell nanowires at high electric fields using optical pump / THz probe spectroscopy with broadband THz pulses and peak electric fields up to 0.6 MV/cm. The plasmon resonance of the photoexcited charge carriers exhibits a systematic redshift and a suppression of its spectral weight for THz driving fields exceeding 0.4 MV/cm. This behavior is attributed to the intervalley electron scattering resulting in the increase of the average electron effective mass and the corresponding decrease of the electron mobility by about 2 times at the highest fields. We demonstrate that the increase of the effective mass is non-uniform along the nanowires and takes place mainly in their middle part, leading to a spatially inhomogeneous carrier response. Our results quantify the nonlinear transport regime in GaAs-based nanowires and show their high potential for development of nano-devices operating at THz frequencies.
In this paper, 20nm - 80nm channel length (Lch) InGaAs gate- all-around (GAA) nanowire MOSFETs with record high on- state and off-state performance have been demonstrated by equivalent oxide thickness (EOT) and nanowire width (WNW) scaling down to 1.2nm and 20nm, respectively. SS and DIBL as low as 63mV/dec and 7mV/V have been demonstrated, indicating excellent interface quality and scalability. Highest ION = 0.63mA/μm and gm = 1.74mS/μm have also been achieved at VDD=0.5V, showing great promise of InGaAs GAA technology for 10nm and beyond high-speed low- power logic applications.
High performance InGaAs gate-all-around (GAA) nanowire MOSFETs with channel length (Lch) down to 20nm have been fabricated by integrating a higher-k LaAlO3-based gate stack with an equivalent oxide thickness of 1.2nm. It is found that inserting an ultrathin (0.5nm) Al2O3 interfacial layer between higher-k and InGaAs can significantly improve the interface quality and reduce device variation. As a result, a record low subthreshold swing of 63mV/dec has been demonstrated at sub-80nm Lch for the first time, making InGaAs GAA nanowire devices a strong candidate for future low-power transistors.
We have measured the terahertz response of oriented germanium nanowires using ultrafast optical-pump terahertz-probe spectroscopy. We present results on the time, frequency, and polarization dependence of the terahertz response. Our results indicate intraband energy relaxation times of photoexcited carriers in the 1.5-2.0 ps range, carrier density dependent interband electron-hole recombination times in the 75-125 ps range, and carrier momentum scattering rates in the 60-90 fs range. Additionally, the terahertz response of the nanowires is strongly polarization dependent despite the subwavelen…
InGaAs gate-all-around nanowire MOSFETs with channel length down to 50nm have been experimentally demonstrated by top-down approach. The nanowire size-dependent transport properties have been systematically investigated. It is found that reducing nanowire dimension leads to higher on-current, transconductance and effective mobility due to stronger quantum confinement and the volume inversion effect. TCAD quantum mechanical simulation has been carried out to study the inversion charge distribution inside the nanowires. Volume inversion effect appears at a larger dimension for InGaAs nanowire MO…
In this paper, we have experimentally demonstrated, for the first time, III-V 4D transistors with vertically stacked InGaAs nanowire (NW) channels and gate-all-around (GAA) architecture. Novel process technology enabling the transition from 3D to 4D structure has been developed and summarized. The successful fabrication of InGaAs lateral and vertical NW arrays has led to 4x increase in MOSFET drive current. The top-down technology developed in this paper has opened a viable pathway towards future low-power logic and RF transistors with high-density III-V NWs.
Chip-scale integrated light sources are a crucial component in a broad range of photonics applications. III-V semiconductor nanowire emitters have gained attention as a fascinating approach due to their superior material properties, extremely compact size, and the capability to grow directly on lattice-mismatched silicon substrates. Although there have been remarkable advances in nanowire-based emitters, their practical applications are still in the early stages due to the difficulties in integrating nanowire emitters with photonic integrated circuits (PICs). Here, we demonstrate for the first…
We theoretically study the electronic transport of a nanowire partly irradiated under an external terahertz (THz) electromagnetic field. Although the electrons in the ballistic nanowires only suffer lateral collision with photons the reflection of electrons also takes place in this partly irradiated case. Using free-electron model and scattering matrix approach we showed that at resonance there exists a step decrement of 50 percent for the transmission probability as the amplitude of field increases to a certain volume. And the coherent structure of transmission for the system apparently appea…
AlGaAs nanowires as a universal platform for GaAs, InGaAs, and InAs quantum dots
Technical University of Denmark（丹麦技术大学）；St. Petersburg State University（圣彼得堡国立大学）；Université Paris Saclay（巴黎萨克雷大学）；CNRS（法国国家科学研究中心）；Alferov University（阿尔费罗夫大学）
Monolithic axial InGaAs quantum dot emitters in GaAs-based nanowires via Sb-mediated facet engineering
Walter Schottky Institute, TUM School of Natural Sciences, Technical University of Munich（慕尼黑工业大学沃尔特·施科特基研究所自然科学学院）；Institute for Physics and Astronomy, Technical University Berlin（柏林工业大学物理与天文学研究所）；Department of Chemistry, Ludwig-Maximilians-University of Munich（慕尼黑大学化学系）；Walter Schottky Institute, TUM School of Computation, Information and Technology, Technical University of Munich（慕尼黑工业大学沃尔特·施科特基研究所计算、信息与技术学院）；Department of Physics, University of California, Berkeley（加州大学伯克利分校物理系）
We observe intense pulses of far-infrared electromagnetic radiation emitted from arrays of InAs nanowires. The THz radiation power efficiency of these structures is about 15 times higher compared to a planar InAs substrate. This is explained by the preferential orientation of coherent plasma motion to the wire surface, which overcomes radiation trapping by total-internal reflection. We present evidence that this radiation originates from a low-energy acoustic surface plasmon mode of the nanowire. This is supported by independent measurements of electronic transport on individual nanowires, ult…
Quantum cascade lasers made of nanowire axial heterostructures are proposed. The dissipative quantum dynamics of their carriers is theoretically investigated using non-equilibrium Green functions. Their transport and gain properties are calculated for varying nanowire thickness, from the classical-wire regime to the quantum-wire regime. Our calculation shows that the lateral quantum confinement provided by the nanowires allows an increase of the maximum operation temperature and a strong reduction of the current density threshold compared to conventional terahertz quantum cascade lasers.
We have fabricated a grating-gate InGaAs/GaAs field-effect transistor structure with narrow slits between the grating gate fingers. The resonant photoconductive response of this structure has been measured in the sub-terahertz frequency range. The frequencies of the photoresponse peaks correspond to the excitation of the plasmon resonances in the structure channel. The obtained responsivity exceeds the responsivity reported previously for similar plasmonic terahertz detectors by two orders of magnitude due to enhanced coupling between incoming terahertz radiation and plasmon oscillations in th…
We consider the possibility of observing continuous third-harmonic generation using a strongly driven, single-band one-dimensional metal. In the absence of scattering, the quantum efficiency of frequency tripling for such a system can be as high as 93%. Combining the Floquet quasi-energy spectrum with the Keldysh Green's function technique, we derive the semiclassical master equation for a one-dimensional band of strongly and rapidly driven electrons in the presence of weak scattering by phonons. The power absorbed from the driving field is continuously dissipated by phonon modes, leading to a…
We report on terahertz radiation detection with InGaAs/InAlAs Field Effect Transistors in quantizing magnetic field. The photovoltaic detection signal is investigated at 4.2 K as a function of the gate voltage and magnetic field. Oscillations analogous to the Shubnikov-de Haas oscillations, as well as their strong enhancement at the cyclotron resonance, are observed. The results are quantitatively described by a recent theory, showing that the detection is due to rectification of the terahertz radiation by plasma waves related nonlinearities in the gated part of the channel.
Phase-locked ultrashort pulses in the rich terahertz (THz) spectral range have provided key insights into phenomena as diverse as quantum confinement, first-order phase transitions, high-temperature superconductivity, and carrier transport in nanomaterials. Ultrabroadband electro-optic sampling of few-cycle field transients can even reveal novel dynamics that occur faster than a single oscillation cycle of light. However, conventional THz spectroscopy is intrinsically restricted to ensemble measurements by the diffraction limit. As a result, it measures dielectric functions averaged over the s…
We report on reflective electro-optic sampling measurements of TeraHertz emission from nanometer-gate-length InGaAs-based high electron mobility transistors. The room temperature coherent gate-voltage tunable emission is demonstrated. We establish that the physical mechanism of the coherent TeraHertz emission is related to the plasma waves driven by simultaneous current and optical excitation. A significant shift of the plasma frequency and the narrowing of the emission with increasing channel's current are observed and explained as due to the increase of the carriers density and drift velocit…
Terahertz quantum cascade lasers based on InGaAs wells and quaternary AlInGaAs barriers were measured in magnetic field. This study was carried out on a four quantum well active region design with photon energy of 14.3 meV processed both with Au and Cu waveguides. The heterostructure operates up to 148 K at B=0 T and in a Cu waveguide. The complete magneto-spectroscopic study allowed the comparison of emission and transport data. Increasing the magnetic field, the low effective mass of the InGaAs wells allowed us to reach the very strong confinement regime. At B=12 T, where the cyclotron trans…
Recent advances in the growth of III-V semiconductor nanowires (NWs) hold great promise for nanoscale optoelectronic device applications. Recently, it was found that a small amount of nitrogen (N) incorporation in III-V semiconductor NWs can effectively red-shift their wavelength of operation and tailor their electronic properties for specific applications. However, understanding the impact of N incorporation on non-equilibrium charge carrier dynamics and transport in semiconducting NWs is critical in achieving efficient semiconducting NW devices. In this work, ultrafast optical pump-terahertz…
We report on the observation of a radiation helicity sensitive photocurrent excited by terahertz (THz) radiation in dual-grating-gate (DGG) InAlAs/InGaAs/InAlAs/InP high electron mobility transistors (HEMT). For a circular polarization the current measured between source and drain contacts changes its sign with the inversion of the radiation helicity. For elliptically polarized radiation the total current is described by superposition of the Stokes parameters with different weights. Moreover, by variation of gate voltages applied to individual gratings the photocurrent can be defined either by…
We present technology computer-aided design (TCAD) models for AlGaAs/InGaAs and AlGaN/GaN and silicon TeraFETs, plasmonic field effect transistors (FETs), for terahertz (THz) detection validated over a wide dynamic range. The modeling results are in good agreement with the experimental data for the AlGaAs/InGaAs heterostructure FETs (HFETs) and, to the low end of the dynamic range, with the analytical theory of the TeraFET detectors. The models incorporate the response saturation effect at high intensities of the THz radiation observed in experiments and reveal the physics of the response satu…
The single electron magnetotransport in a vertical bi-layer semiconductor nanowire made of InAlAs/InGaAs and AlGaAs/GaAs heterostructure is theoretically studied. The magnetic field is directed perpendicularily to the main (transport) axis of the quantum wire and both non-zero components of magnetic field, that is the transverse and the vertical ones, allow to change the magnitude of intra-layer and inter-layer subbands mixing, respectively. We analyze in detail the changes introduced to energy dispersion relation E(k) by strong titled magnetic field up to several teslas for a symmetric and an…
Low dimensional nano-systems are promising candidates for manipulating, controlling and capturing photons with large sensitivities and low-noise. If quantum engineered to tailor the energy of the localized electrons across the desired frequency range, they can allow devising efficient quantum sensors across any frequency domain. Here, we exploit the rich few-electrons physics to develop millimeter-wave nanodetectors employing as sensing element an InAs/InAs0.3P0.7 quantum-dot nanowire, embedded in a single electron transistor. Once irradiated with light the deeply localized quantum element exh…
Terahertz power dependence of the photoresponse of field effect transistors, operating at frequencies from 0.1 to 3 THz for incident radiation power density up to 100 kW/cm^2 was studied for Si metal-oxide-semiconductor field-effect transistors and InGaAs high electron mobility transistors. The photoresponse increased linearly with increasing radiation power up to kW/cm^2 range. The saturation of the photoresponse was observed for all investigated field effect transistors for intensities above several kW/cm^2. The observed signal saturation is explained by drain photocurrent saturation similar…
Experimental results of direct measurement of resonant monochromatic terahertz emission optically excited in InGaAs transistor channels are presented. The emission is attributed to two-dimensional plasma waves excited by photogeneration of electron-hole pairs in the channel at the frequency $f_0$ of the beating of two cw-laser sources. The presence of resonances for the radiation emission in the range of $f_0\pm 10$ GHz (with $f_0$ from 0.3 up to 0.5 THz) detected by a Si-bolometer is found. Numerical results support that such a high quality of the emission resonances can be explained by the a…
Electric control of individual atoms or molecules in a solid-state system offers a promising way to bring quantum mechanical functionalities into electronics. This idea has recently come into the reach of the established domain of silicon technology, leading to the realization of single-atom transistors and to the first measurements of electron spin dynamics in single donors. Here we show that we can electrically couple two donors embedded in a multi-gate silicon transistor, and induce coherent oscillations in their charge states by means of microwave signals. We measure single-electron tunnel…
We study electric dipole spin resonance caused by sub-terahertz (THz) radiation in a multilevel finite-size quantum dot formed in a nanowire focusing on the range of driving electric fields amplitudes where a strong interplay between the Rabi spin oscillations and tunneling from the dot to continuum states can occur. A strong effect of the tunneling on the spin evolution in this regime occurs due to formation of mixed spin states. As a result, the tunneling strongly limits possible spin manipulations time. We demonstrate a backaction of the spin dynamics on the tunneling and position of the el…
