Parametric Resonance and RF-to-THz Frequency Conversion in Semiconductor Plasmonic Crystals

Abstract

We show that plasma excitations in nanoscale field-effect transistor structures with periodic alternation of gated and ungated regions (plasmonic crystals) differ fundamentally from conventional plasmons in isolated gated or ungated regions. In contrast to the linear dispersion of purely gated plasmons and the square-root dispersion of ungated plasmons, these collective modes also exhibit a parabolic dispersion law characterized by a finite effective mass. We call these excitations "rotonic plasmons" emphasizing the analogy to roton-like excitations. The dynamics of rotonic plasmons are governed by a generalized Mathieu equation, describing either resonant or non-resonant parametric excitations of rotonic plasmons depending on damping. These nonlinear resonances can be efficiently driven by gate-voltage pumping, avoiding the spatial nonuniformities and electron drift velocity saturation effects associated with current-driven excitation. Gate-voltage pumping enables much higher terahertz (THz) power levels in plasmonic crystals. More importantly, in contrast to source-drain excitation, gate voltage pumping has the same gate voltage swing over large area transistors or transistor arrays. We develop a unified theory of rotonic plasmons and demonstrate their application for RF to THz frequency multiplication and THz generation. Starting from the general dispersion relation in plasmonic crystals based on coupled gated-ungated regions with two-dimensional electron gas, we derive the parabolic ("rotonic") plasmon spectrum and establish its analogy with roton-like excitations. The analysis predicts parametric instabilities in III-N and III-V plasmonic crystals under gate-voltage pumping. The results confirm that these systems can function as tunable, compact THz sources and detectors suitable for emerging 6G communications and sensing applications.