Helicity sensitive terahertz radiation detection by field effect transistors

Terahertz light helicity sensitive photoresponse in GaAs/AlGaAs high electron mobility transistors. The helicity dependent detection mechanism is interpreted as an interference of plasma oscillations in the channel of the field-effect-transistors (generalized Dyakonov-Shur model). The observed helicity dependent photoresponse is by several orders of magnitude higher than any earlier reported one. Also, linear polarization sensitive photoresponse was registered by the same transistors. The results provide the basis for a new sensitive, all-electric, room-temperature, and fast (better than 1 ns) characterisation of all polarization parameters (Stokes parameters) of terahertz radiation. It paves the way towards terahertz ellipsometry and polarization sensitive imaging based on plasma effects in field-effect-transistors. (C) 2012 American Institute of Physics. [http://dx.doi.org/10.1063/1.4729043]