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At high phonon temperature, defect-mediated electron-phonon collisions (supercollisions) in graphene allow for larger energy transfer and faster cooling of hot electrons than the normal, momentum-conserving electron-phonon collisions. Disorder also affects the heat flow between electrons and phonons at very low phonon temperature, where the phonon wavelength exceeds the mean free path. In both cases, the cooling rate is predicted to exhibit a characteristic cubic power law dependence on the electron temperature, markedly different from the T^4 dependence predicted for pristine graphene. The impact of defect-induced cooling on the performance of optoelectronic devices is still largely unexplored. Here we study the cooling mechanism of hot-electron bolometers based on epitaxial graphene quantum dots where the defect density can be controlled with the fabrication process. The devices with high defect density exhibit the cubic power law. Defect-induced cooling yields a slower increase of the thermal conductance with increasing temperature, thereby greatly enhancing the device responsivity compared to devices with lower defect density and operating with normal-collision cooling.

Summary Glioblastoma (GBM) may arise from astrocytes through a multistep process involving a progressive accumulation of mutations. We explored whether GBM-derived extracellular vesicles (EVs) may facilitate neoplastic transformation and malignant growth of astrocytes. We utilized conditioned media (CM) of cultured glioma cells, its sequential filtration, diverse cell-based assays, RNA sequencing, and metabolic assays to compare the effects of EV-containing and EV-depleted CM. GBM EVs facilitated the neoplastic growth of pre-transformed astrocytes but not normal human or mouse astrocytes. They induced proliferation, self-renewal, and colony formation of pre-transformed astrocytes and enhanced astrocytoma growth in a mouse allograft model. GBM EVs appear to reprogram astrocyte metabolism by inducing a shift in gene expression that may be partly associated with EV-mediated transfer of full-length mRNAs encoding ribosomal proteins, oxidative phosphorylation, and glycolytic factors. Our study suggests an EV/extracellular RNA (exRNA)-mediated mechanism that contributes to astrocyte transformation via metabolic reprograming and implicates horizontal mRNA transfer., Graphical Abstract, Highlights • Extracellular vesicles (EVs) shed by glioma cells are taken up by astrocytes • Glioma EVs facilitate astrocyte transformation and tumor growth • EVs reprogram glycolysis and oxidative phosphorylation of transformed astrocytes • mRNAs coding ribosomal proteins and other factors are dispersed via EVs, Biological Sciences; Cell Biology; Cancer

Graphene is an ideal material for hot-electron bolometers due to its low heat capacity and weak electron-phonon coupling. Nanostructuring graphene with quantum-dot constrictions yields detectors of electromagnetic radiation with extraordinarily high intrinsic responsivity, higher than 1×109 V W−1 at 3 K. The sensing mechanism is bolometric in nature: the quantum confinement gap causes a strong dependence of the electrical resistance on the electron temperature. Here, we show that this quantum confinement gap does not impose a limitation on the photon energy for light detection and these quantum-dot bolometers work in a very broad spectral range, from terahertz through telecom to ultraviolet radiation, with responsivity independent of wavelength. We also measure the power dependence of the response. Although the responsivity decreases with increasing power, it stays higher than 1×108 V W−1 in a wide range of absorbed power, from 1 pW to 0.4 nW.

This theoretical study is devoted to the effects of pressure and temperature on the optoelectronic properties assigned to the first lowest transition of the (D+,X) excitonic complex (exciton-ionized donor) inside a single AlAs/GaAs/AlAs spherical quantum dot. Calculations are performed within the effective mass approximation theory using the variational method. Optical absorption and refractive index as function of the degree of confinement, pressure, and temperature are investigated. Numerical calculation shows that the pressure favors the electron-hole and electron-ionized donor attractions which leads to an enhancement of the binding energy, while an increasing of the temperature tends to reduce it. Our investigations show also that the resonant peaks of the absorption coefficient and the refractive index are located in the terahertz region and they undergo a shift to higher (lower) therahertz frequencies when the pressure (temperature) increases. The opposite effects caused by temperature and pressure have great practical importance because they offer an alternative approach for the adjustment and the control of the optical frequencies resulting from the transition between the fundamental and the first excited state of exciton bound to an ionized dopant. The comparison of the optical properties of exciton, impurity and (D+,X) facilitates the experimental identification of these transitions which are often close. Our investigation shows that the optical responses of (D+,X) are located between the exciton (high energy region) and donor impurity (low energy region) peaks. The whole of these conclusions may lead to the novel light detector or source of terahertz range.

The opening of a quantum confinement gap in nanostructured graphene yields extremely sensitive photodetectors, with electrical noise equivalent power lower than 10−15 W Hz−0.5 at temperatures below 3 K, for detection of radiation in a very broad frequency range, including ultraviolet, visible and terahertz. Here we demonstrate the operation of these detectors in the presence of magnetic field as high as 7 T, paving the way to in situ spectroscopy of molecular nanomagnets.

Atomically thin transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDs) are ideal candidates for ultrathin optoelectronics that is flexible and semitransparent. Photodetectors based on TMDs show remarkable performance, with responsivity and detectivity higher than 10^3 A/W and 10^12 Jones, respectively, but they are plagued by response times as slow as several tens of seconds. Although it is well established that gas adsorbates such as water and oxygen create charge traps and significantly increase both the responsivity and the response time, the underlying mechanism is still unclear. Here we study the influence of adsorbates on MoS2 photodetectors under ambient conditions, vacuum and illumination at different wavelengths. We show that, for wavelengths sufficiently short to excite electron-hole pairs in the MoS2, light illumination causes desorption of water and oxygen molecules. The change in the molecular gating provided by the physisorbed molecules is the dominant contribution to the device photoresponse in ambient conditions.

Two-dimensional materials such as graphene and transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDs) are ideal candidates to create ultra-thin electronics suitable for flexible substrates. Although optoelectronic devices based on TMDs have demonstrated remarkable performance, scalability is still a significant issue. Most devices are created using techniques that are not suitable for mass production, such as mechanical exfoliation of monolayer flakes and patterning by electron-beam lithography. Here we show that large-area MoS2 grown by chemical vapor deposition and patterned by photolithography yields highly sensitive photodetectors, with record shot-noise-limited detectivities of 8.7 X 10^14 Jones in ambient condition and even higher when sealed with a protective layer. These detectivity values are higher than the highest values reported for photodetectors based on exfoliated MoS2. We study MoS2 devices with gold electrodes and graphene electrodes. The devices with graphene electrodes have a tunable band alignment and are especially attractive for scalable ultra-thin flexible optoelectronics.

Light absorption in graphene causes a large change in electron temperature due to the low electronic heat capacity and weak electron-phonon coupling. This property makes graphene a very attractive material for hot-electron bolometers in the terahertz frequency range. Unfortunately, the weak variation of electrical resistance with temperature results in limited responsivity for absorbed power. Here, we show that, due to quantum confinement, quantum dots of epitaxial graphene on SiC exhibit an extraordinarily high variation of resistance with temperature (higher than 430 MΩ K(-1) below 6 K), leading to responsivities of 1 × 10(10) V W(-1), a figure that is five orders of magnitude higher than other types of graphene hot-electron bolometer. The high responsivity, combined with an extremely low electrical noise-equivalent power (∼2 × 10(-16) W Hz(-1/2) at 2.5 K), already places our bolometers well above commercial cooled bolometers. Additionally, we show that these quantum dot bolometers demonstrate good performance at temperature as high as 77 K.

The current flowing in two-dimensional channel of field effect transistors can generate different types of charge density perturbations. They can have a form of uncorrelated hot plasmons or plasma waves. The mechanism of plasma wave generation depends on the parameter omega t and on boundary conditions of the channel. At omega t << 1 only hot plasmons can be generated. The THz emission due to radiative decay of hot plasmons has a broad spectrum and can be only poorly controlled by the transistor gate. The tunability of THz emission can be obtained in the case of the Dyakonov-Shur plasma wave instability. In this work we present experimental studies of THz emission in InGaP/InGaAs/GaAs and GaN/AlGaN based field effect transistors. We report on two types of emission onset: (i) a smooth one typical for hot plasmons generation and (ii) threshold-like one characteristic for plasma waves instabilities. The tunability and spectra of emission change depending on the transistor configuration. We discuss the results suggesting several possible mechanisms of plasma wave excitation.

Nanometer size field effect transistors can operate as efficient resonant or broadband terahertz detectors, mixers, phase shifters and frequency multipliers at frequencies far beyond their fundamental cut-of frequency. This work is an overview of some recent results concerning the THz detection by Si MOS transistors with back-gate, low temperatures operation, and circular polarization studies of nanometer scale field effect transistors for the detection of terahertz radiation. Also first results on graphene transistors are discussed.

International audience; We report on the resonant detection of a 3.1 THz radiation produced by a quantum cascade laser using a 250 nm gate length GaAs/AlGaAs field effect transistor at liquid nitrogen temperature. We show that the physical mechanism of the detection is related to the plasma waves excited in the transistor channel. The detection is enhanced by increasing the drain current and driving the transistor into saturation regime. These results clearly show that plasma wave nanometer-size transistors can be used as detectors in all-solid-state terahertz systems where quantum cascade lasers act as sources.

DOI = 10.1007/s10762-010-9647-7; Resonant frequencies of the two-dimensional plasma in field effect transistors (FETs) increase with the reduction of the channel dimensions and can reach the Terahertz (THz) range. Nonlinear properties of the plasma/electron gas in the transistor channel can be used for the rectification and detection of THz radiation. The excitation of plasma waves by sub-THz and THz radiation was demonstrated for short gate transistors at cryogenic temperatures. At room temperature plasma oscillations are usually overdamped, but the FETs can still operate as efficient broadband rectifiers/detectors in the THz range. We present a few recent experimental results on THz detection by FETs showing some new ways of improvement of FETs for THz imaging at room temperature as well as the new physical phenomena like detection in quantizing magnetic fields. We also demonstrate THz emission properties of GaN based FETs.

We present experimental results on the Terahertz radiation from high electron mobility transistors at room temperature, which clearly show the tunability of the emission frequency by the gate voltage.

We report on room temperature terahertz generation by a submicron size AlGaN/GaN-based high electron mobility transistors. The emission peak is found to be tunable by the gate voltage between 0.75 and 2.1 THz. Radiation frequencies correspond to the lowest fundamental plasma mode in the gated region of the transistor channel. Emission appears at a certain drain bias in a thresholdlike manner. Observed emission is interpreted as a result of Dyakonov–Shur plasma wave instability in the gated two-dimensional electron gas.

Resonant frequencies of the two-dimensional plasma in field effect transistors (FETs) increase with the reduction of the channel dimensions and can reach the THz range for nanometer size devices. Nonlinear properties of the electron plasma in the transistor channel can lead to the detection and emission of THz radiation. The excitation of plasma waves by sub-THz and THz radiation was experimentally demonstrated at cryogenic as well as at room temperatures. We present an overview of experimental results on THz detection by FETs discussing possibilities of improvement of their performance and application for THz room temperature imaging. We present also recent results on THz emission from GaN/AlGaN-based FETs.

Resonant frequencies of the two-dimensional plasma in FETs increase with the reduction of the channel dimensions and can reach the THz range for sub-micron gate lengths. Nonlinear properties of the electron plasma in the transistor channel can be used for the detection and mixing of THz frequencies. At cryogenic temperatures resonant and gate voltage tunable detection related to plasma waves resonances, is observed. At room temperature, when plasma oscillations are overdamped, the FET can operate as an efficient broadband THz detector. We present the main theoretical and experimental results on THz detection by FETs in the context of their possible application for THz imaging., Comment: 22 pages, 12 figures, review paper

The possibility of using plasma wave field effect transistor in a time domain terahertz (THz) spectroscopy setup is presented. We demonstrate that High Electron Mobility Transistors (HEMTs) is an efficient device for detection of pulsed terahertz electric fields generated with a femtosecond laser oscillator. The response was observed in the frequency range of about 1 THz, far above the cutoff frequency of the transistors at room temperature. We show that the physical mechanism of the detection is related to the plasma waves excited in the transistor channel and that significant improvement of the active device can be achieved by increasing the drain current. The two-dimensional terahertz imaging applications clearly demonstrate that plasma wave nanometer HEMT should be employed as efficient future detectors in a matrix configuration.

International audience; In this work, we report on room temperature terahertz radiation from sub-micron size GaN/AlGaN based high electron mobility transistors (HEMTs). They could successfully replace the standard Fourier Transform spectrometer source and were investigated with a standard Si-bolometer as a detector. The relatively broad (~1THz) emission line was observed. The maxima were found to be tunable by the gate voltage between 0.75 and 2.1 THz. The observed emission was interpreted as due to the current driven plasma waves instability in the two-dimensional electron gas. The emitted power from a single device reached 150 nW, showing possible application of these transistors as compact sources for terahertz spectroscopy and imaging.

In this work we present experimental results on room temperature terahertz (THz) detection/emission from nanotransistors as well as double grating gates structures. It shows that the emission spectra from GaN/AlGaN HEMT transistor can be successfully interpreted in the frame of the Dyakonov-Shur model which predicts that by heating/accelerating the electrons up to velocities comparable with plasma wave velocity can lead to instability and generation of plasma waves in the transistor channel. Studies of the current dependence of THz detection by InGaAs based HEMT is also presented. It is shown that in realistic transistor structures the room temperature resonant THz detection can be observed only upon applying a current high enough to produce fast/hot electrons. (© 2008 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)

We demonstrated a room-temperature detection of terahertz radiation with a plasma wave nanometric transistor. The detection is resonant and can be efficient for terahertz time-resolved imaging.

Imaging at 0.6 THz is tested with a commercial GaAs high-electron-mobility transistor (HEMT) operated at room temperature. The results allow the assessment of the potential of future antenna-fitted HEMT arrays for real-time imaging.

The plasma waves in gated two-dimensional electron gas have a linear dispersion law, similar to the sound waves. The transistor channel is acting as a resonator cavity for the plasma waves, which can reach frequencies in the Terahertz (THz) range for a sufficiently short gate length Field Effect Transistors (FETs). THz emission and detection by nanometer III-V transistors have been recently reported. In this work we report on THz emission and detection by nanometer GaN/AlGaN HEMTs. In particular, we show that specific GaN properties allow to observe THz emission up to room temperature. (© 2008 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)

International audience; We report on resonant terahertz detection by the two-dimensional electron plasma in nanometric InGaAs and GaN transistors. Up to now, the majority of research has been devoted to GaAs-based devices as the most promising from the point of view of the electron mobility. However, resonant detection has been reported only in the sub-THz range. According to the predictions of the Dyakonov–Shur plasma wave detection theory, an increase of the detection frequency can be achieved by reducing the length or increasing the carrier density in the gated region. We demonstrate that the 1 THz limit can be overcome by using ultimately short-gate InGaAs and GaN nanotransistors. For the first time the tunability of the resonant signal by the applied gate voltage is demonstrated. We show that the physical mechanism of the detection is related to the plasma waves excited in the transistor channel (Dyakonov–Shur theory). We also show that increasing of the drain-to-source current leads to a transformation of the broadband detection to a resonant and tuneable one. We can get resonant detection at room temperature. We finally discuss the possible application of detection by nanotransistors in different types of THz spectroscopy research.

Detection of subterahertz and terahertz radiation by high electron mobility GaN/AlGaN transistors in the 0.2-2.5 THz frequency range (much higher than the cutoff frequency of the transistors) is reported. Experiments were performed in the temperature range 4-300 K For the lowest temperatures, a resonant response was observed. The resonances were interpreted as plasma wave excitations in gated two-dimensional electron gas. Non-resonant detection was observed at temperatures above 100 K. Estimates for noise equivalent power show that these transistors can be used as efficient detectors of terahertz radiation at cryogenic and room temperatures.

The authors report on detection of terahertz radiation by high electron mobility nanometer InGaAs/AlInAs transistors. The photovoltaic type of response was observed at the 1.8-3.1 THz frequency range, which is far above the cutoff frequency of the transistors. The experiments were performed in the temperature range from 10 to 80 K. The resonant response was observed and was found to be tunable by the gate voltage. The resonances were interpreted as plasma wave excitations in the gated two-dimensional electron gas. The minimum noise equivalent power was estimated, showing possible application of these transistors in sensing of terahertz radiation. (c) 2006 American Institute of Physics.

The authors report on the demonstration of room temperature, tunable terahertz detection obtained by 50nm gate length AlGaAs∕InGaAs high electron mobility transistors (HEMTs). They show that the physical mechanism of the detection is related to the plasma waves excited in the transistor channel and that the increasing of the drain current leads to the transformation of the broadband detection to the resonant and tunable one. They also show that the cap layer regions significantly affect the plasma oscillation spectrum in HEMTs by decreasing the resonant plasma frequencies.

The channel of nanometre field effect transistor can act as a resonant cavity for plasma waves. The frequency of these plasma waves is in the Terahertz range and can be tuned by the gate length and the gate bias. During the last few years Terahertz detection and emission related to plasma wave instabilities in nanometre size field effect transistors was demonstrated experimentally. In this work we review the recent results on sub-THz and THz detection by 50-300nm gate length III-V HEMTs and Si MOSFETs. We present experimental results on the resonant and nonresonant (overdamped) plasma wave detection and discuss possible applications of nanometre field effect transistors as new detectors of THz radiations.

International audience; Room-temperature generation of terahertz radiation in nanometer gate length InAlAs/InGaAs and AlGaN/GaN high-mobility transistors is reported. A well-defined source-drain voltage threshold for the emission exists, which depends on the gate bias. Spectral analysis of the emitted radiation is presented. The highest emission power emitted from a single device reached 0.1 µW.

The plasma waves in gated two-dimensional electron gas have a linear dispersion law, similar to the sound waves. The transistor channel is acting as a resonator cavity for the plasma waves, which can reach frequencies in the THz range for a sufficiently short gate length field effect transistors. A variety of possible applications of field effect transistor operating as a THz device were suggested. In particular, it was shown that the nonlinear properties of plasma oscillations can be utilized for THz tunable detectors. During the last few years THz detection related to plasma wave instabilities in nanometer size field effect transistors was demonstrated experimentally. In this work we review our recent experimental results on the resonant plasma wave detection at cryogenic and room temperatures.

The channel of nanometre field effect transistor can act as a resonant cavity for plasma waves. The frequency of these plasma waves is in the Terahertz range and can be tuned by the gate bias. During the last few years Terahertz detection and emission related to plasma wave instabilities in nanometre size field effect transistors was demonstrated experimentally. In this work we review the recent experimental results on the resonant plasma wave detection and emission at room temperature.