Magnetoconductivity of GaAs transistors as detectors of THz radiation

Magnetotransport characterisation of field effect transistors processed on GaAs/GaAlAs heterostructure was done at 4.2 K for magnetic fields (B) up to 7 T. Three field effect transistors were processed on a single dice and differed by the length (L) of the gate. Electron mobility (μ) in field effect transistors was estimated from dependence of transistor's conductivity vs. B. The results show a decrease in μ with decreasing L that suggests that scattering by edges of the gated part of a transistor limits the electron mobility. Quality factor (Q) of transistors as resonant detectors of THz radiation was calculated. A high value of Q shows that such field effect transistors with sub-micron L are promising devices that can operate at THz frequencies.