Abstract
Photodetectors are the essential building blocks of a wide range of optical systems. Typical photodetectors only convert the intensity of light electrical output signals, leaving other electromagnetic parameters, such as the frequencies, phases, and polarization states unresolved. Metasurfaces are arrays of subwavelength structures that can manipulate the amplitude, phase, frequency, and polarization state of light. When combined with photodetectors, metasurfaces can enhance the light-matter interaction at the pixel level and also enable the detector pixels to resolve more electromagnetic parameters. In this paper, we review recent research efforts in merging metasurfaces with photodetectors towards improved detection performances and advanced detection schemes. The impacts of merging metasurfaces with photodetectors, on the architecture of optical systems, and potential applications are also discussed.
Highlights
Photodetectors, devices that transduce light into electrical signals, are the fundamental building blocks of various optical systems, such as image sensors, detection and ranging (LIDAR), optical transceivers, and so on [1]
The detectors usually need to pair with refractive lenses, spectral filters, polarizers, and other separate optical devices to resolve the full properties of light, which shapes the architectures of various optical systems [3]
We review recent research efforts in merging metasurfaces with photodetectors towards improved detection performances and advanced detection schemes
Summary
Photodetectors, devices that transduce light into electrical signals, are the fundamental building blocks of various optical systems, such as image sensors, detection and ranging (LIDAR), optical transceivers, and so on [1]. The electrical signals of both photon and thermal detectors represent the intensity of incoming light. These detectors themselves cannot resolve other important electromagnetic parameters of light, such as phase, polarization states, and frequencies. The detectors usually need to pair with refractive lenses, spectral filters, polarizers, and other separate optical devices to resolve the full properties of light, which shapes the architectures of various optical systems [3]. Metasurface provides a versatile platform for developing thin-film planar optical devices for resolving light properties. One lithographic mask is sufficient to integrate multiple functionalities in a single metasurface This implies that meta-optics and photodetectors can be fabricated and assembled in the same foundry. The resulted high-performance multifunctional photodetectors will eventually transform the architecture of the existing sensor modules, making them more compact, lightweight, and cost-effective
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