High-performance flexible waveguide-integrated photodetectors

Abstract

Mechanically flexible photonic devices are essential building blocks for novel bio-integrated optoelectronic systems, wearable sensors, and flexible consumer electronics. Here we describe the design and experimental demonstration of high-performance flexible semiconductor nanomembrane photodetectors integrated with single-mode chalcogenide glass waveguides. Through a combination of a waveguide-integrated architecture to enhance light–matter interactions and mechanical engineering of multilayer configurations to suppress strains, the detector devices exhibit record optical and mechanical performance. The devices feature a noise equivalent power as low as 0.02 pW·Hz1/2, a linear dynamic range exceeding 70 dB, and a 3-dB bandwidth of 1.4 GHz, all measured at 1530 nm wavelength. The devices withstand 1000 bending cycles at a submillimeter radius without degradation in their optoelectronic responses. These metrics represent significant improvements over state-of-the-art flexible photodetectors.