Graphene quantum dots for high-performance THz hot electron bolometers

ORAL

Abstract

We study graphene quantum dots patterned from epitaxial graphene on SiC with a resistance strongly dependent on temperature. The combination of weak electron-phonon coupling and small electronic heat capacity in graphene makes these quantum dots ideal hot-electron bolometers. We characterize their response to THz radiation as a function of dot size, with sizes ranging from 30 to 700 nm and temperature, from 2.4K to 80K. We show that quantum dots exhibit a variation of resistance with temperature higher than 430 M$\Omega $/K below 6K, leading to electrical responsivities for an absorbed THz power above 1\texttimes 10$^{\mathrm{10}}$ V/W. The high responsivity, the potential for operation above 80 K and the process scalability show great promise towards practical applications of graphene quantum dot THz detectors. $^{\mathrm{1}}$A. El Fatimy, R.L.Myers-Ward, A.K. Boyd, K.M. Daniels, D. K. Gaskill, and P. Barbara, Nature Nanotechnology, Accepted (2015).

*This work was sponsored by the U.S. Office of Naval Research (award number N000141310865)

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Authors

  • Abdel El Fatimy

    • Department of Physics, Georgetown University, Washington DC, 20057
    • Georgetown University

  • P Han

    • Department of Physics, Georgetown University, Washington DC, 20057
    • Department of Physics, Georgetown University

  • R.L Myers-Ward

    • U.S. Naval Research Laboratory, Washington, DC 20375

  • A.K Boyd

    • U.S. Naval Research Laboratory, Washington, DC 20375

  • K.M Daniels

    • U.S. Naval Research Laboratory, Washington, DC 20375

  • A.B Sushkov

    • Department of Physics, University of Maryland, Maryland, 20742, USA

  • D Drew

    • Department of Physics, University of Maryland, Maryland, 20742, USA

  • D.K Gaskill

    • U.S. Naval Research Laboratory, Washington, DC 20375

  • Paola Barbara

    • Department of Physics, Georgetown University, Washington DC, 20057
    • Georgetown University