Possibility and design of resonant terahertz emitters based on nanoscale strained silicon plasma wave transistors with enhanced mobility

Abstract

In this paper, we report the possibility of silicon (Si) plasma wave transistor (PWT) as a resonant terahertz (THz) emitter based on the theoretical analysis focusing on the strained Si with enhanced mobility. Under asymmetric boundary conditions for plasma wave instability, the amplitude of plasma wave in FET channel increases and this plasma wave increment provides the basis of the electromagnetic (EM) wave emission from FET. Because this instability is controlled by manipulation of plasma wave velocity (s) and electron drift velocity (v0), we propose the design window based on s-v0 plot which determines whether the device operates as the resonant THz emitters considering all the required physical conditions. It is expected from the proposed design window that strained Si PWT down to 10nm gate length with enhanced channel mobility of 500cm2·V -1·-1 can operate as a resonant emitter in THz frequency range.