Graphene frequency multipliers

Abstract

In this letter, the ambipolar transport properties of graphene flakes have been used to fabricate full-wave signal rectifiers and frequency-doubling devices. By correctly biasing an ambipolar graphene field-effect transistor in common-source configuration, a sinusoidal voltage applied to the transistor gate is rectified at the drain electrode. Using this concept, frequency multiplication of a 10-kHz input signal has been experimentally demonstrated. The spectral purity of the 20-kHz output signal is excellent, with more than 90% of the radio-frequency power in the 20-kHz frequency. This high efficiency, combined with the high electron mobility of graphene, makes graphene-based frequency multipliers a very promising option for signal generation at ultrahigh frequencies. © 2009 IEEE.