Ideal Photodetector Research Articles

Ideal Photodetector Based on WS2/CuInP2S6 Heterostructure by Combining Band Engineering and Ferroelectric Modulation.

Two-dimensional van der Waals (2D vdW) heterostructure photodetectors have garnered significant attention for their potential applications in next-generation optoelectronic systems. However, current 2D vdW photodetectors inevitably encounter compromises between responsivity, detectivity, and response time due to the absence of multilevel regulation for free and photoexcited carriers, thereby restricting their widespread applications. To address this challenge, we propose an efficient 2D WS2/CuInP2S6 vdW heterostructure photodetector by combining band engineering and ferroelectric modulation. In this device, the asymmetric conduction and valence band offsets effectively block the majority carriers (free electrons), while photoexcited holes are efficiently tunneled and rapidly collected by the bottom electrode. Additionally, the ferroelectric CuInP2S6 layer generates polarization states that reconfigure the built-in electric field, reducing dark current and facilitating the separation of photocarriers. Moreover, photoelectrons are trapped during long-distance lateral transport, resulting in a high photoconductivity gain. Consequently, the device achieves an impressive responsivity of 88 A W-1, an outstanding specific detectivity of 3.4 × 1013 Jones, and a fast response time of 37.6/371.3 μs. Moreover, the capability of high-resolution imaging under various wavelengths and fast optical communication has been successfully demonstrated using this device, highlighting its promising application prospects in future optoelectronic systems.

Gradient 2D–3D Ruddlesden-Popper perovskite film for high-performance self-powered photodetectors

Quasi-2D Ruddlesden–Popper perovskites have been widely used in the photoelectric detection field owing to their tunable optical bandgap and superior stability. However, because phases formed in the quasi-2D perovskite films have unfixed n values, the transport channels of charge carriers are greatly disordered. Herein, based on the hot-casting method, the effects of substrate temperature on the surface morphology and internal phases distribution of 2D perovskite films was investigated, leading to the preparation of uniform and compact 2D–3D gradient perovskite thin films. Perovskites have an orderly gradient phase distribution along the longitudinal direction of the thin film, which is beneficial to the separation and transport of carriers, thus improving the photosensitivity of photodiode over the whole visible spectrum range. The ideal photodetector fabricated at 120 ℃ has an extremely low dark current density (2.3 × 10−11A/cm2), large specific detectivity (1.22 × 1014 Jones) at 455 nm, ultra-fast response time (5.5/4.7 µs) and ultra-high on/off ratio of 108, indicating its great potential for high-efficiency photodetection without the voltage bias (0 V). Moreover, compared with 3D perovskite devices, hot-casted 2D perovskite devices exhibit greatly improved stability, with JD remaining at about 10−11A/cm2 for 400 h, which is very significant for realizing outstanding performance and stable photodiodes.

Silicon Waveguide-Integrated Carbon Nanotube Photodetector with Low Dark Current and 48 GHz Bandwidth.

Low-dimensional materials with excellent optoelectronic properties and complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) process compatibility have the potential to construct high-performance photodetectors used in a cost-efficient monolithic or hybrid integrated optical communication system. Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) have attracted a lot of attention due to special geometric structure and broad band response, high optical absorption coefficient, ps-level intrinsic light response, high carrier mobility and wafer-scaled production process. Here, we demonstrated a high-performance waveguide-integrated CNT photodetector with asymmetric palladium (Pd) and hafnium (Hf) contact electrodes. The ideal photodetector structure was realized via comparing with simulation and experimental results, where the optimized device achieved a high 3 dB bandwidth ∼48 GHz at 0 V, as well as a responsivity ∼73.62 mA/W and dark current ∼0.157 μA at -2 V bias voltage. This waveguide-integrated CNT photodetector with low dark current and high bandwidth is helpful for next-generation optical communication and high-speed optical interconnects.

Single β-Ga2O3 microbelt solar-blind photodetector with high specific detectivity, high rejection ratio and fast speed

An ideal solar-blind photodetector should possess high responsivity, low dark current, high speed, high spectral selectivity, high stability and a facile fabrication method. In this work, a high-quality single β-Ga2O3 microbelt photodetector is fabricated through low-pressure chemical vapor deposition and in situ atmospheric pressure annealing techniques. Due to the high quality and low defect density, this device shows a peak responsivity of 9.47 A W−1 at 256 nm, a dark current of 1 pA and an ultrashort fall time of 1.37 μs under 20 V bias. Moreover, an ultrahigh specific detectivity of ∼1014 Jones and an extremely large solar-blind/ultraviolet A rejection ratio of nearly 105 have also been achieved, suggesting the excellent sensitivity and wavelength selectivity of our single β-Ga2O3 microbelt photodetector. Besides that, the β-Ga2O3 microbelt photodetector exhibits excellent mechanical and long-term stabilities. Our findings provide a facile and promising route to develop high performance solar-blind UV photodetectors.

Recent advances in self-powered and flexible UVC photodetectors.

Ultraviolet-C (UVC) radiation is employed in various applications, including irreplaceable applications in military and civil fields, such as missile guidance, flame detection, partial discharge detection, disinfection, and wireless communication. Although most modern electronics are based on Si, UVC detection technology remains a unique exception because the short wavelength of UV radiation makes efficient detection with Si difficult. In this review, recent challenges in obtaining ideal UVC photodetectors with various materials and various forms are introduced. An ideal photodetector must satisfy the following requirements: high sensitivity, fast response speed, high on/off photocurrent ratio, good regional selectivity, outstanding reproducibility, and superior thermal and photo stabilities. UVC detection is still in its infancy compared to the detection of UVA as well as other photon spectra, and recent research has focused on different key components, including the configuration, material, and substrate, to acquire battery-free, super-sensitive, ultra-stable, ultra-small, and portable UVC photodetectors. We introduce and discuss the strategies for fabricating self-powered UVC photodetectors on flexible substrates in terms of the structure, material, and direction of incoming radiation. We also explain the physical mechanisms of self-powered devices with various architectures. Finally, we present a brief outlook that discusses the challenges and future strategies for deep-UVC photodetectors.

Broadband Detection Based on 2D Bi2Se3/ZnO Nanowire Heterojunction

The investigation of photodetectors with broadband response and high responsivity is essential. Zinc Oxide (ZnO) nanowire has the potential of application in photodetectors, owing to the great optoelectrical property and good stability in the atmosphere. However, due to a large number of nonradiative centers at interface and the capture of surface state electrons, the photocurrent of ZnO based photodetectors is still low. In this work, 2D Bi2Se3/ZnO NWAs heterojunction with type-I band alignment is established. This heterojunction device shows not only an enhanced photoresponsivity of 0.15 A/W at 377 nm three times of the bare ZnO nanowire (0.046 A/W), but also a broadband photoresponse from UV to near infrared region has been achieved. These results indicate that the Bi2Se3/ZnO NWAs type-I heterojunction is an ideal photodetector in broadband detection.

Transparent multispectral photodetectors mimicking the human visual system

Compact and lightweight photodetection elements play a critical role in the newly emerging augmented reality, wearable and sensing technologies. In these technologies, devices are preferred to be transparent to form an optical interface between a viewer and the outside world. For this reason, it is of great value to create detection platforms that are imperceptible to the human eye directly onto transparent substrates. Semiconductor nanowires (NWs) make ideal photodetectors as their optical resonances enable parsing of the multi-dimensional information carried by light. Unfortunately, these optical resonances also give rise to strong, undesired light scattering. In this work, we illustrate how a new optical resonance arising from the radiative coupling between arrayed silicon NWs can be harnessed to remove reflections from dielectric interfaces while affording spectro-polarimetric detection. The demonstrated transparent photodetector concept opens up promising platforms for transparent substrates as the base for opto-electronic devices and in situ optical measurement systems.

General modeling framework for quantum photodetectors

Photodetection plays a key role in basic science and technology, with exquisite performance having been achieved down to the single photon level. Further improvements in photodetectors would open new possibilities across a broad range of scientific disciplines, and enable new types of applications. However, it is still unclear what is possible in terms of ultimate performance, and what properties are needed for a photodetector to achieve such performance. Here, we present a general modeling framework for photodetectors whereby the photon field, the absorption process, and the amplification process are all treated as one coupled quantum system. The formalism naturally handles field states with single or multiple photons as well as a variety of detector configurations, and includes a mathematical definition of ideal photodetector performance. The framework reveals how specific photodetector architectures introduce limitations and tradeoffs for various performance metrics, providing guidance for optimization and design.

Excess Loss in Homodyne Detection Originating from Distributed Photocarrier Generation in Photodiodes

The distributed absorption of photons in photodiodes induces an excess noise in continuous-wave photodetection above the transit-time roll-off frequency. We show that it can be treated as a frequency-dependent excess optical loss in homodyne detection. This places a limit on the bandwidth of high-accuracy homodyne detection, even if an ideal photodetector circuit is available. We experimentally verify the excess loss in two ways; a comparison of signal gain and shot-noise gain of one-port homodyne detection, and a balanced homodyne detection of squeezed light at 500 MHz sideband. These results agree with an analytic expression we develop, where the randomness of the photoabsorption is directly modeled by an intrusion of vacuum field. At 500 MHz, we estimate the excess loss at 14% for a Si-PIN photodiode with 860 nm incident light, while the numerical simulation predicts much smaller excess loss in InGaAs photodiodes with 1550 nm light.

Direct In Situ Hybridized Interfacial Quantification to Stimulate Highly Flexile Self-Powered Photodetector

In contrary to the existing externally powered photodetectors, a reliable approach for self-powered photodetection is designed for the first time through an internally integrated concept via coupling of piezotronic with photonic effects. A flexile self-powered photodetector (F-SPPD) developed by one-dimensionally grown floral-like F-ZnO nanorods on a poly(vinylidene difluoride) substrate conjointly performs the tunability of optical properties through the exploitation of strain-induced piezoelectric potentials (σ+, σ–) at the electrode interfaces. The experimental observation showed an ideal photodetector characteristics with a 1-fold increment in photoresponsivity (R365nm ∼ 22.76 mA/W) by lowered Schottky barrier heights (ΦSB1T, ΦSB2T) through externally governed tensile strain (+e). Further, the self-powered operation mode of F-SPPD exhibited higher spectral sensitivity (5.69 mA/(W cm–2)) than that of the photodetector (3.47 mA/(W cm–2)) operated under unstrained condition. This work effectively brings ...

High-Performance, Self-Powered Photodetectors Based on Perovskite and Graphene.

An ideal photodetector must exhibit a fast and wide tunable spectral response, be highly responsive, have low power consumption, and have a facile fabrication process. In this work, a self-powered photodetector with a graphene electrode and a perovskite photoactive layer is assembled for the first time. The graphene electrode is prepared using a solution transfer process, and the perovskite layer is prepared using a solution coating process, which makes the device low cost. Graphene can form a Schottky junction with TiO2 to efficiently separate/transport photogenerated excitons at the graphene/perovskite interface. Unlike the conventional photovoltaic structure, in this photodetector, both photogenerated electrons and holes are transported along the same direction to graphene, and electrons tunneled into TiO2 are collected by the cathode and holes transported by graphene are collected by the anode; therefore, the photodetector is self-powered. The photodetector has a broad range of detection, from 260 to 900 nm, an ultrahigh on-off ratio of 4 × 106, rapid response to light on-off (<5 ms), and a high level of detection of ∼1011 Jones. The high performance is primarily due to the unique charge-transport property of graphene and strong light absorption properties of perovskite. This work suggests a new method for the production of self-powered photodetectors with high performance and low power consumption on a large scale.

The limit of quantum cascade detectors: A single period device

In this work, we demonstrate a 4.1 μm quantum cascade photodetector with external quantum efficiencies of 40% at 80 K and 25% at 300 K. Such high efficiencies have been made possible by using a single period active region embedded in a facet coupled low-loss dielectric ridge waveguide. This emphasizes the relevance of enhancing the optical interaction for this type of detector in a different manner from increasing the number of periods. Low noise operation was achieved by using photovoltaic operation at zero bias and an elaborate band structure design to prevent undesired scattering paths. A noise equivalent power of 10 pW/Hz and a corresponding specific detectivity of 7×107 cmHz/W at room-temperature, as well as background limited operation below 124 K with a detectivity close to an ideal photodetector, are demonstrated.

Influence of photo-detector's dead-time on the speckle contrast for blood flow measurement

The statistics of temporal integration of dynamically scattered light is commonly employed to calculate the correlation time of the light and related physical properties of the object that produce it, i.e. scatterer’s speed. Recently, studying the statistics of time-averaged fluorescence intensity, it was reported that a small dead-time (1% of the exposure time) of the photo-detector increases the correlation time by one order of magnitude compared with an ideal photo-detector. Applying the same theory to the speckle contrast calculation for blood flow measurement, we found that the effect of dead-time is negligible compared to an ideal photo-detector for contrast calculation. All Rights Reserved © 2015 Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico, Centro de Ciencias Aplicadas y Desarrollo Tecnologico. This is an open access item distributed under the Creative Commons CC License BY-NC-ND 4.0.

Calculation of Bit Error Rates in Optical Systems With Silicon Photonic Wires

A theoretical approach to calculate the bit error rate (BER) in optical systems containing silicon photonic wires (Si-PhWs) is presented. Specifically, the optical link consists of a single-mode silicon-on-insulator strip waveguide followed by a direct-detection optical receiver containing an optical filter, an ideal square-law photodetector, and an electrical filter. We assume that the optical input consists of a superposition of a nonreturn-to-zero ON–OFF keying modulated optical signal and an additive white Gaussian noise, the BER of the transmitted optical signal being calculated using the time domain Karhunen–Loève expansion method. The propagation of the optical signal in the Si-PhW is described by employing both a rigorous theoretical model that incorporates all relevant linear and nonlinear optical effects and the mutual interaction between the free carriers and the optical field, as well as a linearized model valid in the low-noise power regime. These analytical and computational tools are then used to comprehensively investigate the influence of the parameters characterizing the waveguide and optical signal on the transmission BER.

Comprehensive Investigation of Single Crystal Diamond Deep-Ultraviolet Detectors

The wide bandgap of diamond, along with its extreme semiconductor properties, offers the promising route for deep-ultraviolet (DUV) detection, especially under solar-blind condition and harsh environments. The ideal photodetector should generally satisfy the 5S requirements such as high sensitivity, high signal-to-noise ratio, high spectral selectivity, high speed, and high stability. In this paper, we comprehensively investigate the DUV detectors fabricated from various kinds of single crystal diamonds such as boron-doped diamond homoepitaxial layer, intrinsic diamond homoepitaxial layers with different thicknesses, and single crystal diamond substrates. The post process such as hydrogen plasma treatment on the performance of the DUV detectors is also examined. The strategies to develop high-performance diamond DUV detectors are provided.

Error Probability Analysis of Free-Space Optical Links with Different Channel Model under Turbulent Condition

Free space optics (FSO) is a promising solution for the need to very high data rate point-to point communication. FSO communication technology became popular due to its large bandwidth potential, unlicensed spectrum, excellent security and quick and inexpensive setup. Unfortunately, atmospheric turbulence-induced fading is one of the main impairments affecting FSO communications. To design a high performance communication link for the atmospheric FSO channel, it is of great importance to characterize the channel with proper model. In this paper, the modulation format is Q-ary PPM across lasers, with intensity modulation and ideal photodetectors are assumed to investigate the most efficient PDF models for FSO communication under turbulent condition. The performance results are evaluated in terms of symbol error probability (SEP) for different type of channel model and the simulation results confirm the analytical findings.

Injection photodiode based on p-CdTe film

Photosensitive large-block p-type cadmium telluride (p-CdTe) film with a resistivity of ρ ≈ 106−107 Ω cm has been used to create an Al-p-CdTe-Mo structure with a Schottky barrier, which exhibits the properties of an injection photodiode. Being switched in the forward current passage direction (with “+” on the Mo contact) at high illumination levels, the proposed structure exhibits a responsivity of Sλ ≈ 2.6 A/W at a wavelength of λ = 0.625 μm, which is about five times the spectral response of the ideal photodetector for this wavelength range.

Metal-insulator-semiconductor photodetectors.

The major radiation of the Sun can be roughly divided into three regions: ultraviolet, visible, and infrared light. Detection in these three regions is important to human beings. The metal-insulator-semiconductor photodetector, with a simpler process than the pn-junction photodetector and a lower dark current than the MSM photodetector, has been developed for light detection in these three regions. Ideal UV photodetectors with high UV-to-visible rejection ratio could be demonstrated with III–V metal-insulator-semiconductor UV photodetectors. The visible-light detection and near-infrared optical communications have been implemented with Si and Ge metal-insulator-semiconductor photodetectors. For mid- and long-wavelength infrared detection, metal-insulator-semiconductor SiGe/Si quantum dot infrared photodetectors have been developed, and the detection spectrum covers atmospheric transmission windows.

Photon noise in a random laser amplifier with fluctuating properties

We study fluctuations of the number of photocounts measured by an ideal photodetector illuminated by light scattered in an amplifying disordered medium, below the threshold for random lasing. We show that the variance of fluctuations and their correlation function carry information about fluctuating properties of the medium. A direct link is established between the fluctuations of the number of photocounts due to the amplified spontaneous emission (ASE) and the dimensionless conductance $g$ of the medium. Our results suggest a possibility of probing amplifying disordered media by analyzing statistics of their ASE, without illuminating them from outside by a probe beam.

The quest for the ideal photodetector for the next generation deep-underwater neutrino telescopes

We review photodetectors used in present running neutrino telescopes. After a brief historical discourse, the photodetector requirements for the next generation deep-underwater neutrino telescopes are discussed. It is shown that large-area vacuum hybrid phototubes are the closest to the ideal photodetector for such kinds of applications when compared with other vacuum phototubes.