Terahertz-Frequency Plasmonic-Crystal Instability in Field-Effect Transistors with Asymmetric Gate Arrays

Abstract: We present a theory for plasmonic crystal instability in a semiconductor field-effect transistor with a dual grating gate, designed with strong asymmetry in the crystal elementary cell. Under the action of a dc current bias, we demonstrate that Bloch plasma waves in the resulting plasmonic crystal, formed in this transistor, develop the Dyakonov-Shur instability across the entire Brillouin zone. By calculating the energy spectrum of the plasmonic crystal and its instability increments, we analyze the dependence of the latter on the electron drift velocity and the extent of the structural asymmetry. Our results point to the possibility of exciting radiating steady-state plasma oscillations at room temperature, in transistors with asymmetric gate arrays that should be readily implementable via standard nanofabrication techniques. Long-range coherence of the unstable plasma oscillations, generated in the elementary cells of the crystal, should dramatically increase the radiated THz electromagnetic power, making this approach a promising pathway to the generation of THz signals.