Monte Carlo simulation of high‐order harmonics generation in bulk semiconductors and submicron structures

To qualify the feasibility of standard semiconductor materials and Schottky‐barrier diodes (SBDs) for THz high‐order harmonic generation and extraction, the harmonic intensity, intrinsic noise and signal‐to‐noise ratio are calculated by the Monte Carlo method when a periodic high‐frequency large‐amplitude external signal is applied to a semiconductor device. Due to very high signal‐to‐noise ratio heavily doped GaAs SBDs are found to exhibit conditions for frequency mixing and harmonic extraction that are definitively superior to those of bulk materials. (© 2004 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)