A generalized Drude model for doped silicon at terahertz frequencies derived from microscopic transport simulation

Abstract

Unveiling the full potential of doped silicon for electronic, photonic, and plasmonic application at THz frequencies requires a thorough understanding of its high-frequency transport properties. In this letter, we present a comprehensive numerical characterization of the frequency-dependent (0–2.5 THz) complex conductivity of silicon at room temperature over a wide range of doping densities (1014−1018 cm−3). The conductivity was calculated using a multiphysics computational technique that self-consistently couples ensemble Monte Carlo (EMC) simulation of carrier transport, the finite-difference time-domain (FDTD) solution to Maxwell's equations, and molecular dynamics (MD) for the treatment of short-range Coulomb interactions. Our EMC/FDTD/MD numerical results complement the experimental data that only exist for a select few doping densities. Moreover, we show that the computed complex conductivity of Si at THz frequencies can be accurately described by a generalized Drude (GD) model with doping-dependent parameters that capture the cross-over from phonon-dominated to Coulomb-dominated electron transport as the doping density increases. The simplicity of the GD model enables one to readily compute the complex conductivity of silicon for any doping density within the range studied here.