TOPTICA’s TeraScan helps characterize next-generation terahertz detectors

So-called “TeraFETs” - field-effect transistors with integrated antennas for terahertz detection - are promising candidates for compact, chip-based, yet broadband terahertz receivers.

A team of researchers from Frankfurt University, Ferdinand-Braun Institute (both Germany) and Vilnius University (Lithuania) has managed to significantly improve the performance of TeraFETs, using GaN-based high-electron mobility transistors (HEMTs). The sensitivity of the new devices was more than twofold higher than with previous GaN terahertz detectors.
The authors employed a TeraScan 1550 from TOPTICA Photonics as a precisely tunable terahertz source in order to characterize the new detectors over a broad frequency range.

Download the paper "A High-Sensitivity AlGaN/GaN HEMT Terahertz Detector With Integrated Broadband Bow-Tie Antenna", IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON TERAHERTZ SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY, VOL. 9, NO. 4, JULY 2019

TOPTICA’s TeraScan platforms are well-established “TopSeller” configurations for frequency-domain terahertz spectroscopy. The TeraScan 1550 sets new benchmarks in terms of terahertz power and dynamic range for demanding applications in Plastic Inspection, Material Research, Gas sensing, and Security.