Semi-suspended graphene terahertz photothermoelectric detector

Abstract

Terahertz (THz) waves, with their unique physical properties, have potential applications in a number of industries. However, current THz detectors are not widely used due to their poor sensitivity and response speed. Using semi-suspended graphene as the channel material, we present a THz photothermoelectric detector in this work. We show that the semi-suspended device has a better THz photothermoelectric response than non-suspended devices. Additionally, we calculate the temperature distribution of graphene in the channel and the resulting photoresponse voltage using heat conduction theory, validating the substrate impact on graphene heat conduction. This study offers an approach to build room-temperature THz detectors with high sensitivity and fast response.