Nanodevices at terahertz frequency based on 2D materials

Artificial semiconductor heterostructures played a pivotal role in modern electronic and photonic technologies, providing a highly effective mean for the manipulation and control of carriers, from the visible to the terahertz frequency range. Despite their exceptional versatility, they commonly require challenging epitaxial growth procedures, due to the need of clean and abrupt interfaces, lattice matching or limited and controlled lattice mismatch, which proved to be major obstacles for the development of room-temperature devices, like sources, detectors or modulators, especially in the far-infrared. The discovery of graphene and the related fascinating capabilities have triggered an unprecedented interest in inorganic two-dimensional materials. Layered materials such as graphene, hexagonal boron nitride, transition metal dichalcogenides, and the more recently re-discovered black phosphorus display an exceptional technological potential for engineering nano-electronic and nano-photonic devices and components 'by design', offering a unique platform for developing devices with a variety of properties. Here, I review our latest achievements in the design and developments of graphene based nanodetectors, saturable absorbers and near field probes operating across the far-infrared.