Strain-induced photo-thermoelectric terahertz detection

We report a design for terahertz (THz) detection by introducing strain to an area of a single-wall carbon nanotube (SWNT) film. The strain is achieved by bending the film around the center, and a large THz response is measured at the two photo-thermoelectric junctions created on the edges of the strained area. We attribute the THz response to an increase in the Seebeck coefficient of the SWNT film with strain, which gives rise to the photo-thermoelectric effect. The enhanced thermal performance is verified on a macroscopic scale using Non-Equilibrium Green’s Function approach for SWNT networks.