Compact, sensitive and fast nanodetectors are considered to be somewhat of a "Holy Grail" sought by many researchers around the world. And now a team of scientists in Italy and France has been inspired by nanomaterials and has created a novel solid-state technology platform that opens the door to the use of terahertz (THz) photonics in a wide range of applications.
During the past decade, materials research has played an essential role in filling the THz gap, beginning with the development of THz quantum cascade lasers, which rely heavily on semiconductor heterostructured artificial nanomaterials. The development of THz spectroscopy, nanospectroscopy and THz imaging expanded the range of powerful tools for the characterization of a broad range of materials -- including one-dimensional or two-dimensional semiconductors, biomolecules and graphene.
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Ref: One dimensional semiconductor nanostructures: An effective active-material for terahertz detection. APL Materials, 2015; 3 (2): 026104 DOI: 10.1063/1.4906878
Terahertz photonic devices advance with nanowire detectors operating at room temperature
