By using arrays of nanowires with intentionally broken symmetry, we were able to detect microwaves up to 110 GHz at room temperature. This is, to the best of our knowledge, the highest speed that has been demonstrated in different types of novel electronic nanostructures to date. Our experiments showed a rather stable detection sensitivity over a broad frequency range from 100 MHz to 110 GHz. The novel working principle enabled the nanowires to detect microwaves efficiently without a dc bias. In principle, the need for only one high-resolution lithography step and the planar architecture allow an arbitrary number of nanowires to be made by folding a linear array as many times as required over a large area, for example, a whole wafer. Our experiment on 18 parallel nanowires showed a sensitivity of approximately 75 mV dc output/mW of nominal input power of the 110 GHz signal, even though only about 0.4% of the rf power was effectively applied to the structure because of an impedance mismatch. Because this array of nanowires operates simultaneously, low detection noise was achieved, allowing us to detect -25 dBm 110 GHz microwaves at zero bias with a standard setup.
Bottom-contact organic field-effect transistors (OFETs) based on poly(3-hexylthiophene)-2,5-diyl were fabricated under different process conditions. The devices displayed drastic differences in their ambient-air stability. Whereas it took only about 10min in air for the off current to increase by one order of magnitude in OFETs prepared with chloroform and hexamethyldisilazane, a 120min exposure to air caused only a slight degradation of OFETs prepared using 1,2,4-trichlorobenzene, n-octadecyltrichlorosilane, and a heat treatment. The differences in the film surface morphology were analyzed and possible mechanisms for the enhanced stability are discussed.
We report on the room-temperature electrical rectification at 1.5 THz of a unipolar nanodiode based on symmetry breaking in a nanochannel. The exploitation of its nonlinear diodelike characteristic and intrinsically low parasitic capacitance enables rectification at ultrahigh speed. The zero-voltage threshold and unique planar layout make the nanodiode suitable for building large arrays. This is the highest speed reported in nanorectifiers to date.
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