p-Diamond as a plasmonic material for high frequency applications

The gate-controlled hole gas at the hydrogenated diamond surface was predicted to have a plasmonic response to a terahertz and sub-terahertz electric field, making p-diamond field effect transistors promising candidates for implementing room temperature plasmonic devices. The predicted performance of diamond plasmonic detectors shows their potential for high temperature, high voltage, and radiation hard applications and for THz communications and spectroscopy. The hole mobilities in our samples allow for a room temperature resonant plasmonic response. It makes possible the realization of p-diamond based emitters in terahertz and sub-terahertz range, using strong current driven plasma instability in gated channels. Toward the optimal design of p-diamond plasmonic devices we simulated the response using the complete set of hydrodynamic equations, including the thermal transport and accounting for effects of viscosity and pressure gradients. In the strong signal regime we find that a shock wave develops in the charge density and drift velocity profiles. Due to high value of the dielectric breakdown field in diamond the diamond plasmonic device can operate in the strong signal regime, when a shock wave propagates in the channel.