Perspectives of DIG FinFETs for efficient terahertz detection applications

Dual-independent-gate (DIG) silicon FinFETs were recently shown capable of operating with ultra-steep subthreshold slope of 3.4 mV/dec at room-temperature due to a weak impact ionization induced positive feedback. In this work we discuss the perspectives of these devices for room-temperature terahertz detector applications. Our analysis shows that DIG-FinFETs can enable room-temperature current-responsivities up to two orders of magnitude larger than those of regular FET and Schottky diode detectors at room-temperature. The device operation, detector configurations, and the sources of noise in the device are discussed and rigorously analyzed; moreover the device is also benchmarked against other present-day direct detector technologies.

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