Engineered resonant tunnelling nanostructures for the Terahertz realm

能够利用太赫兹能量的金属/绝缘体纳米结构的工程是这个项目的中心目标。挑战在于调整金属/绝缘体界面的势垒高度，以实现最佳的太赫兹能量转换。实现这一雄心勃勃的目标的工具是彻底理解界面屏障的形成以及所提出的纳米结构的物理和电学性质的相关性。纳米结构将采用原子层沉积（ALD）制备。ALD沉积系统可以控制微观结构，从而更好地控制隧道屏障的组成和厚度，以及界面的完整性和稳定性。目标是在三个耦合的工作阶段，这是紧密相连的，需要大量的理论和实验研究与广泛的表征技术。该项目的成功成果将促进新兴技术的发展，并补充曼彻斯特大学和英国帝国理工学院的研究工作，为红外和可见域的太赫兹能量收集带来新的高效电子设备。

The engineering of the metal/insulator nanostructures capable of harnessing THz energy is the central aim of this project. The challenge lies in tuning the barrier heights at the metal/insulator interfaces for optimal terahertz energy conversion. Instrumental in achieving this ambitious goal is thorough understanding of interfacial barrier formation and correlation of physical and electrical properties of proposed nanostructures. The nanostructures will be fabricated using atomic layer deposition (ALD). The ALD deposition system enables a controlled microstructure, leading to better uniformity and control of the tunnelling barriers' composition and thickness, as well as interface integrity and stability. The target is addressed in three coupled work phases, which are strongly linked, and entail voluminous theoretical and experimental study with a wide range of characterization techniques. The successful outcome of the project will facilitate an emerging technology and complement research efforts at Manchester University and Imperial College in the UK to bring about new efficient electronic devices for terahertz energy harvesting in infrared and visible domain.