An Overview of Semiconductor Rectifier Operating in the Millimeter Wave and Terahertz Region

An imaging system operated at millimeter (MM) waves and terahertz (THz) frequencies can be used in many applications such as safety monitoring, public security, medical, healthcare and manufacturing. Typically, these systems utilize rectifying antenna (rectenna) to convert electromagnetic radiation into usable DC power which will be used to generate images. One of the main components of rectenna is the rectifier. Hence, this paper explores the current review on several semiconductor rectifiers that have been significantly deployed for MM-wave/THz imaging systems. This includes Schottky diodes, metal-insulator-metal (MIM) diodes, self-switching diodes (SSDs) and ballistic rectifiers (BRs). The rectifying performance of these devices are discussed in terms of their voltage responsivity and noise-equivalent power (NEP). The standard fabrication process of each device is also presented in this paper as well as their recent development and achievement as high-frequency rectifiers for MM-wave/THz imaging systems.