Quantum confinement for terahertz technology

Paola Barbara, Georgetown University
Physical Sciences Building 160/161
November 4, 2016, 4:00-5:00pm.

Abstract: The capability to grow materials that are one atomic layer thick naturally opens the opportunity to study quantum confinement in two, one and zero dimensions. Is this just an entertaining physicist playground? Here I show that carbon nanotube and graphene quantum dots can be used as extremely sensitive, low-noise light detectors in a frequency range that has great promise for applications in many fields, but is technologically still at its infancy, the terahertz range. I will discuss the physical mechanisms that we exploited, including electron heating and cooling, to create different types of quantum dot terahertz detectors.