Quantum-dot single-electron transistor as thermoelectric quantum detectors at terahertz frequencies

Abstract

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 exhibits an extra electromotive force driven by the photothermoelectric effect, which is exploited to efficiently sense radiation at 0.6 THz with a noise equivalent power < 8 pWHz-1/2 and almost zero dark current. The achieved results open intriguing perspectives for quantum key distributions, quantum communications and quantum cryptography at terahertz frequencies.

This is the authors' version of the article submitted to Nano Letters and accepted for publication https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.nanolett.1c02022 (18 Pages, 4 Figures)

References in corpus (6)

• Thermoelectric conversion at 30K in InAs/InP nanowire quantum dots
• Thermoelectric efficiency of nanoscale devices in the linear regime
• High temperature metamaterial terahertz quantum detector
• Quantum-dot single-electron transistor as thermoelectric quantum detectors at terahertz frequencies
• Ultrafast terahertz detectors based on three-dimensional meta-atoms
• Ultrasensitive Photoresponse of Graphene Quantum Dot in the Coulomb Blockade Regime to THz Radiation

Cited by in corpus (1)

• Quantum-dot single-electron transistor as thermoelectric quantum detectors at terahertz frequencies