Output details
15 - General Engineering
University of Hull
Negative differential resistance associated with hot phonons
Most microwave emitters (used in speed guns, mobile phones etc.) are based on the conventional negative-differential-resistance (NDR) driven by inter-valley transfer. The emission frequency depends crucially on the semiconductor used to fabricate the device. In this work we propose a new mechanism for generating an NDR, based on the generation of non-equilibrium phonons in gallium nitride. Detailed characterization of the NDR is underway, but our complementary work (http://dx.doi.org/10.1063/1.3032272) suggests that THz frequencies are theoretically achievable. Such a room temperature electrical source of THz radiation would be extremely desirable for a range of applications, e.g. in imaging and communications.
