Hydrodynamic simulation of heterodyne terahertz detection in a field effect transistor

We propose a method for the heterodyne detection of terahertz (THz) signals. The nonlinear element is constituted by the channel of an High Electron Mobility Transistor (HEMT), while the optical beating of two laser beams exciting plasma waves in the transistor channel plays the role of the THz local oscillator. We numerically show, through an hydrodynamic modelling, the efficiency of such a mixer.