Resonant terahertz absorption by plasmons in grating-gate GaN HEMT structures

Pronounced resonant absorption and frequency dispersion associated with an excitation of collective 2D plasmons have been observed in terahertz (0.5-4THz) transmission spectra of grating-gate 2D electron gas AlGaN/GaN HEMT (high electron mobility transistor) structures at cryogenic temperatures. The resonance frequencies correspond to plasmons with wavevectors equal to the reciprocal-lattice vectors of the metal grating, which serves both as a gate electrode for the HEMT and a coupler between plasmons and incident terahertz radiation. The resonances are tunable by changing the applied gate voltage, which controls 2D electron gas concentration in the channel. The effect can be used for resonant detection of terahertz radiation and for “on-chip” terahertz spectroscopy.