Sensing individual terahertz photons
- 26 March 2010
- journal article
- research article
- Published by IOP Publishing in Nanotechnology
- Vol. 21 (16), 165203
- https://doi.org/10.1088/0957-4484/21/16/165203
Abstract
One of the promising ways to perform single-photon counting of terahertz radiation consists in sensitive probing of plasma excitation in the electron gas upon photon absorption. We demonstrate the ultimate sensor operating on this principle. It is assembled from a GaAs/AlGaAs quantum dot, electron reservoir and superconducting single-electron transistor. The quantum dot is isolated from the surrounding electron reservoir in such a way that when the excited plasma wave decays, an electron could tunnel off the dot to the reservoir. The resulting charge polarization of the dot is detected with the single-electron transistor. Such a system forms an easy-to-use sensor enabling single-photon counting in a very obscure wavelength region.Keywords
This publication has 11 references indexed in Scilit:
- Ultrasensitive hot-electron nanobolometers for terahertz astrophysicsNature Nanotechnology, 2008
- A quantum dot as a sensitive terahertz detectorPhysica E: Low-dimensional Systems and Nanostructures, 2006
- Photon-counting microscopy of terahertz radiationApplied Physics Letters, 2006
- Isolated quantum dot in application to terahertz photon countingPhysical Review B, 2006
- Single-photon detector in the microwave rangeApplied Physics Letters, 2002
- A single-photon detector in the far-infrared rangeNature, 2000
- The Radio-Frequency Single-Electron Transistor (RF-SET): A Fast and Ultrasensitive ElectrometerScience, 1998
- Quantitative analysis of Josephson-quasiparticle current in superconducting single-electron transistorsPhysical Review B, 1996
- Single-electron charging of a superconducting islandPhysical Review Letters, 1992
- Zero-dimensional states and single electron charging in quantum dotsPhysical Review Letters, 1992