Publications

Kristopher Erickson, Xiaowei He, A. Alec Talin, Bernice Mills, Robert H. Hauge, Takashi Iguchi, Naoki Fujimura, Yukio Kawano, *Junichiro Kono, *François Léonard,
Figure of Merit for Carbon Nanotube Photothermoelectric Detectors,
ACS Nano 9, 11618–11627 (2015).

[Summary] Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) have emerged as promising materials for visible, infrared, and terahertz photodetectors. Further development of these photodetectors requires a fundamental understanding of the mechanisms that govern their behavior as well as the establishment of figures of merit for technology applications. Recently, a number of CNT detectors have been shown to operate based on the photothermoelectric effect. Here we present a figure of merit for these detectors, which includes the properties of the material and the device. In addition, we use a suite of experimental characterization methods for the thorough analysis of the electrical, thermoelectric, electrothermal, and photothermal properties of the CNT thin-film devices. Our measurements determine the quantities that enter the figure of merit and allow us to establish a path toward future performance improvements.

Xiaowei He, Naoki Fujimura, J. Meagan Lloyd, Kristopher J. Erickson, A. Alec Talin, Qi Zhang, Weilu Gao, Qijia Jiang, Yukio Kawano, Robert H. Hauge, *François Léonard and *Junichiro Kono,
Carbon Nanotube Terahertz Detector,
Nano Letters 14, 3953–3958 (2014).

[Summary] Terahertz (THz) technologies are promising for diverse areas such as medicine, bioengineering, astronomy, environmental monitoring, and communications. However, despite decades of worldwide efforts, the THz region of the electromagnetic spectrum still continues to be elusive for solid state technology. Here, we report on the development of a powerless, compact, broadband, flexible, large-area, and polarization-sensitive carbon nanotube THz detector that works at room temperature. The detector is sensitive throughout the entire range of the THz technology gap, with responsivities as high as ∼2.5 V/W and polarization ratios as high as ∼5:1. Complete thermoelectric and opto-thermal characterization together unambiguously reveal the photothermoelectric origin of the THz photosignal, triggered by plasmonic absorption and collective antenna effects, and suggest that judicious design of thermal management and quantum engineering of Seebeck coefficients will lead to further enhancement of device performance.