This paper investigates terahertz detectors fabricated in a low-cost 130 nm silicon CMOS technology. We show that the detectors consisting of a nMOS field effect transistor as rectifying element and an integrated bow-tie coupling antenna achieve a record responsivity above 5 kV/W and a noise equivalent power below 10 pW/Hz^0.5 in the important atmospheric window around 300 GHz and at room temperature. We demonstrate furthermore that the same detectors are efficient for imaging in a very wide frequency range from ~0.27 THz up to 1.05 THz. These results pave the way towards high sensitivity focal plane arrays in silicon for terahertz imaging.

We study the broadband photovoltaic response of field effect transistors on terahertz radiation. A simple physical analytical model of the response is developed. It is based on plasma density perturbation in the transistor channel by the incoming terahertz radiation. The model shows how the non-resonant detection signal is related to static (dc) transistor characteristics. We analyze loading effects related to capacitive, inductive, and resistive coupling of the detector to the read-out circuit as a function of modulation frequencies and loading resistors. As we show, the proposed physical model completed by loading effects fully describes the experimental results on the non-resonant sub-terahertz detection by all studied III-V (GaAs, GaN) and silicon based transistors. Field effect transistors were recently proposed as the best terahertz detecting pixels for fabrication of low cost focal plane arrays for terahertz imaging. This article gives prospects for electrical simulation of these transistors and their optimal integration in the focal plane arrays.

We probe charge photogeneration and subsequent recombination dynamics in neat regioregular poly(3-hexylthiophene) films over six decades in time by means of time-resolved photoluminescence spectroscopy. Exciton dissociation at 10 K occurs extrinsically at interfaces between molecularly ordered and disordered domains. Polaron pairs thus produced recombine by tunneling with distributed rates governed by the distribution of electron-hole radii. Quantum-chemical calculations suggest that hot-exciton dissociation at such interfaces results from a high charge-transfer character.

The electronic properties of macromolecular semiconductor thin films depend profoundly on their solid-state microstructure, which in turn is governed, among other things, by the processing conditions selected and the polymer's chemical nature and molecular weight. Specifically, low-molecular-weight materials form crystalline domains of cofacially $\pi${}-stacked molecules, while the usually entangled nature of higher-molecular-weight polymers leads to microstructures comprised of molecularly ordered crystallites interconnected by amorphous regions. Here, we examine the interplay between extended exciton states delocalized along the polymer backbones and across polymer chains within the $\pi${} stack, depending on the structural development with molecular weight. Such two-dimensional excitations can be considered as Frenkel excitons in the limit of weak intersite coupling. We combine optical spectroscopies, thermal probes, and theoretical modeling, focusing on neat poly(3-hexylthiophene) (P3HT)\char22{}one of the most extensively studied polymeric semiconductors\char22{}of weight-average molecular weight (${M}_{\mathrm{w}}$) of 3\char21{}450 kg/mol. In thin-film structures of high-molecular-weight materials (${M}_{\mathrm{w}}$ > 50 kg/mol), a balance of intramolecular and intermolecular excitonic coupling results in high exciton coherence lengths along chains ($\sim${}4.5 thiophene units), with interchain coherence limited to $\sim${}2 chains. In contrast, for structures of low-${M}_{\mathrm{w}}$ P3HT (<50 kg/mol), the interchain exciton coherence is dominant ($\sim${}30$%$ higher than in architectures formed by high-molecular-weight materials). In addition, the spatial coherence within the chain is significantly reduced (by nearly 25$%$). These observations give valuable structural information; they suggest that the macromolecules in aggregated regions of high-molecular-weight P3HT adopt a more planar conformation compared to low-molecular-weight materials. This results in the observed increase in intrachain exciton coherence. In contrast, shorter chains seem to lead to torsionally more disordered architectures. A rigorous, fundamental description of primary photoexcitations in $\pi${}-conjugated polymers is hence developed: two-dimensional excitons are defined by the chain-length dependent molecular arrangement and interconnectivity of the conjugated macromolecules, leading to interplay between intramolecular and intermolecular spatial coherence.

The paper demonstrates a complete acquisition chain of a 300GHz to 1THz image sensor with on-chip multiplexing in a 0.13μm bulk silicon CMOS technology. The pixel consumes less than 100μW and has a responsivity of 90kV/W at 300GHz and of 1.8kV/W at 1.05THz respectively. High resolution and contrast THz images revealing the inner structure of tree leaves are presented. These results show that multi-frequency and room temperature imaging systems are possible in cost-effective CMOS technologies.