Blackbody-like emission of terahertz radiation from AlGaN/GaN heterostructure under electron heating in lateral electric field

The authors report on the observation and study of terahertz radiation emission from modulation-doped AlGaN/GaN heterostructure under conditions of heating of a two-dimensional electron gas in the lateral electric field. The experimental results are compared with the theoretical model of blackbody-like emission from hot two-dimensional electrons. Complementary transport measurements and a theoretical simulation were carried out to determine the dependence of effective electron temperature on electric field. The role of nonequilibrium optical phonon accumulation is discussed. (C) 2011 American Institute of Physics. [doi:10.1063/1.3573489]