An ultrafast silicon nanoplasmonic ballistic triode

摘要

A nanoscale three terminal silicon based nanoplasmonic triode is proposed as a nanometer transistor. The device is suitable for monolithic integration with complementary-metal-oxide-semiconductor technology. Due to the highly spatially inhomogeneous, highly confined nanoplasmonic mode, electrons generated through two-photon absorption in the silicon are ponderomotively accelerated towards the copper anode producing an output current. Application of a negative grid voltage allows for control of the output current. The nanoplasmonic triode is able to achieve output current as high as 628 mA/μm on an ultrafast timescale of 150 fs in a compact footprint of 0.07 μm. Reduction of the plasmonic field strength allows for a CMOS compatible current of 11.7 mA/μm. The results demonstrate the potential for the compact optical control of current useful for applications in high-speed, high current switching, and amplification.