Compact terahertz devices based on silicon in CMOS and BiCMOS technologies

This paper reports on compact CMOS-based electronic sources and detectors developed for the terahertz frequency range. It was demonstrated that with the achievable noise-equivalent power levels in a few tens of pW/root Hz and the emitted power in the range of 100 mu W, one can build effective quasi-optical emitter-detector pairs operating in the 200-266 GHz range with the input power-related signal-to-noise ratio reaching 70 dB for 1 Hz-equivalent noise bandwidth. The applicability of these compact devices for a variety of applications including imaging, spectroscopy or wireless communication links was also demonstrated.

Automated summary

This paper reports on the development of compact CMOS-based electronic sources and detectors for the terahertz frequency range. It is demonstrated that these devices can achieve high signal-to-noise ratios and have a wide range of applications, including imaging, spectroscopy, and wireless communication.