Room-temperature operation of a unipolar nanodiode at terahertz frequencies

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. (C) 2011 American Institute of Physics. [doi: 10.1063/1.3595414]