THz detectors

Terahertz (THz) detectors play an increasing role in different areas of human activities (e.g., security, biological, drugs and explosions detection, imaging, astronomy applications, etc.). In the paper, issues associated with the development and exploitation of THz radiation detectors are discussed. The basic physical phenomena and the recent progress in both direct and heterodyne detectors are described. More details concern Schottky barrier diodes, pair braking detectors, hot electron mixers and field-effect transistor detectors, where links between THz devices and modern technologies such as micromachining are underlined. Also the operational conditions of THz detectors and their upper performance limits are reviewed.