Observation of terahertz photon-assisted tunneling in triple-barrier resonant tunneling diodes integrated with patch antenna

Terahertz (THz) photon-assisted tunneling was observed in GaInAs/InAlAs tri ple-barrier resonant tunneling diodes (RTDs) integrated with patch antennas on InP substrates. The conduction loss of the antenna was reduced by a str ucture that consists of an Au-coated ground plane, an Au antenna electrode and a thick benzo-cyclo-butane layer as a dielectric between them. Large TH z voltages were induced across the RTD with this structure by THz irradiati on (frequency f = 1.4-3.1 THz), e.g., 122 mV at an incident power of 76 mW at f = 1.4THz. Current changes due to photon-assisted tunneling with photon absorption and emission were determined. The peak voltage of the current c hange shifts due to the multiphoton process with increasing incident power. The multiphoton process was remarkable at low irradiation frequency. These measurements were in reasonable agreement with theory.