HOT-ELECTRON MULTIQUANTUM-WELL MICROWAVE DETECTOR OPERATING AT ROOM-TEMPERATURE

A new multiquantum well hot-electron microwave detector is demonstrated. The GaAs-AlGaAs heterostructure was grown by molecular beam epitaxy and tested in the X and K bands. It showed room-temperature operation with responsivity of several 103 V/W. The operation of the device is based on enhanced thermionic current due to carrier heating by the incident in-plane polarized microwave electric field. This principle yields a broad frequency range of operation extending up to the millimeter band without significant degradation of the responsivity.© 1995 American Institute of Physics.