Abstract-Terahertz amplification in RTD-gated HEMTs with a grating-gate wave coupling topology

Hugo O. Condori Quispe1, Jimy J. Encomendero-Risco2,3, Huili Grace Xing2,3 and Berardi Sensale-Rodriguez1


1 The University of Utah, Salt Lake City, Utah 84112, USA
2 University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, Indiana 46556, USA
3 Cornell University, Ithaca, New York 14853, USA
Appl. Phys. Lett. 109, 063111 (2016); http://dx.doi.org/10.1063/1.4961053
http://scitation.aip.org/content/aip/journal/apl/109/6/10.1063/1.4961053?TRACK=RSS

We theoretically analyze the operation of a terahertz amplifier consisting of a resonant-tunneling-diode gated high-electron-mobility transistor (RTD-gated HEMT) in a grating-gate topology. In these devices, the key element enabling substantial power gain is the efficient coupling of terahertz waves into and out of plasmons in the RTD-gated HEMT channel, i.e., the gain medium, via the grating-gate itself, part of the active device, rather than by an external antenna structure as discussed in previous works, therefore potentially enabling terahertz amplification with associated power gains >40 dB.