Theoretical study of terahertz quantum well photodetectors: Effect of metallic diffraction coating

Abstract

The possibility of enhancement of sensitivity of quantum well photodetectors by adding metallic diffraction coating on top of the dielectric layer of photodetectors is studied. With the grating the spatial distribution of the intensity of electromagnetic wave within the active region of the photodetector is highly non-uniform with the intensity variation over a few orders of magnitude within a period of the grating. This effect is due to the coupling of surface plasmon with incident electromagnetic wave. At terahertz frequencies the average intensity of the transmitted radiation wave through the grating strongly depends on the dielectric constant of metal.