Analysis of terahertz detection with a 2D hot-electron quantum well detector

Abstract

The operation of a previously proposed terahertz (THz) detector is formulated in detail. The detector is based on the hot-electron effect of the 2D electron gas (2DEG) in the quantum well (QW) of a GaAs/AlGaAs heterostructure. The interaction between the THz radiation and the 2DEG, the current enhancement due to hot-electron effect, and the noise performance of the detector are analyzed.