Broadband Quantum Rectification and Mixing Via the Nonlinear Transport in PtTe<sub>2</sub>.

Hu, Fanrui; Lei, Jiayu; Park, Hanbum; Wang, Fei; Dessmann, Nils; Bal, Maurice Eduard; Wong, Cheng Quan; Li, Zhaohui et al. · Nano Lett · 2026

basic_science · Level V

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Abstract

The rapid growth of Internet of Things, 6G communication, and millimeter wave systems demands broadband rectifiers and mixers. The nonlinear Hall effect (NLHE) provides a junction-free route for broadband signal processing, overcoming high-frequency limitations associated with threshold voltages and junction capacitance in conventional semiconductor technologies. However, few NLHE material platforms combine strong nonlinearity, high conductivity, and compatibility with wafer-scale processing. In this work, we demonstrate NLHE in PtTe<sub>2</sub> thin films with a second-order conductivity of 0.005 Ω<sup>-1</sup> V<sup>-1</sup> and a DC conductivity of 9.5 × 10<sup>5</sup> S/m at room temperature. The films enable bias-free rectification from 0.62 to 2.88 THz and frequency mixing from 0.1 to 40 GHz, including wireless mixing in the GHz regime. The passive mixer exhibits a 1 dB compression point of 8 dBm. These results establish PtTe<sub>2</sub> as a wafer-scale platform for high-frequency signal processing, highlighting the practical potential of NLHE for next-generation communication and electronic technologies.