Low-Frequency Noise of a Ballistic Rectifier

A ballistic-electron transport-based semiconductor nanorectifier, also known as a ballistic rectifier, has been demonstrated to have an intrinsic zero threshold voltage. In this paper, we characterize its low-frequency noise properties and show that the zero-threshold property enables elimination of the flicker noise. As a potential terahertz detector, the ballistic rectifier exhibits a noise equivalent power in the range of commercially available, uncooled thermal terahertz detectors. The observed noise in the device at finite biases is modeled quantitatively. The derived simple formula reveals that the narrowest part of the electron channels has a dominant role in the device noise properties.