Self-excitation of Terahertz Plasmons in Graphene FETs Enabled by Transit-time Negative Dynamic Conductance

The interband Zener-Klein interband tunneling in the field-effect transistors (FETs) with the graphene channels consisting of the reverse-biased p-i-n junctions enables the negative dynamic conductance associated with the electrons and hole propagation delays. This can lead to the self-excitation of plasmons in the gated p- and n-regions. For the submicrometer gate lengths, the frequency of these plasmons is in the terahertz (THz) range. The plasmon self-excitation in this regime can be used for the generation of THz radiation.