Surface/interface issues in THz electronics

Basic THz elements are produced by standard semiconductor science and technology. Therefore, three main material systems are used. These are first of all semiconductors, for active and passive layer formation; metals, for interconnect and contact formation; and insulators, for passivation and isolation purposes. Additionally, these materials are structured in order to produce a device with desired dimensions and characteristics. Semiconductor surfaces, in particular suffer considerable changes during technological processing. Thus, surface and interface issues are essential here to be considered. Semiconductor–dielectric, semiconductor–metal, and semiconductor–semiconductor interfaces as well as surface effects for the case of GaAs are discussed in detail from the point of view of Schottky diodes and heterostructure-based devices for THz applications.