Design of InAs nanosheet arrays with ultrawide polarization-independent high absorption for infrared photodetection

Abstract

InAs nanowires have been considered as good candidates for infrared photodetection. However, one-dimensional geometry of a nanowire makes it unsuitable for broadband light absorption. In this work, we propose and design InAs nanosheet arrays to achieve polarization-independent, angle-insensitive, and ultrawide infrared absorption. Simulations demonstrate that two-dimensional InAs nanosheets can support multiple resonance modes, thus leading to a strong and broadband absorption from visible light to mid-wave infrared. Moreover, we can tune polarization-dependent property in InAs nanosheets to be polarization-insensitive by forming a nanosheet based clover-like and snowflake-like nanostructures. We further optimized the design of InAs nanosheet arrays based on such structures and achieved high absorption (up to 99.6%) covering a broad wavelength range from 500 to 3200 nm. These absorption properties are much superior to their nanowire and planar film counterparts, making it attractive for infrared photodetection applications. The architecture of such nanostructures can provide a promising route for the development of high-performance room-temperature broadband infrared photodetectors.

InAs nanowire arrays for room-temperature ultra-broadband infrared photodetection

“…Moreover, in comparison with previously reported devices, 3 the responsivity and detectivity of our device are significantly higher, likely due to the improved crystal structure, indicating the potential for highperformance room-temperature SWIR and MWIR photodetec- tion. We suggest that a possible method to further enhance the absorption and photoresponse of InAs nanowire arrays in the longer wavelength infrared range would be increasing the nanowire diameter or modulating the morphology of the nanostructures (such as nanosheets) 51 to support more resonance modes in the infrared range. Further optimisation of SAE InAs nanowire array growth with effective surface passivation methods could also lead to much improved device performance at wavelengths ranging from SWIR to MWIR.…”

Review on III–V Semiconductor Nanowire Array Infrared Photodetectors

“…Compared with Si, III-V semiconductors provide higher photoelectric conver-sion efficiency and broader absorption band to SWIR. Recently, Zuo et al proposed an InAs nanosheet array-based photodetector, as presented in Figure 12c,d, showing not only ultrawide photoresponse from 500 to 3200 nm, [31] but also a high dichroic ratio (> 50) in the wavelength range of 2-3 μm by engineering the nanosheet thickness and height. [32] This structure is very promising for infrared wide-spectral polarimetric imaging, which can achieve polarization state detection without the need for micro/nanopolarizers.…”

“…Therefore, they have been widely used in infrared photodetector and camera applications. [23][24][25] In recent years, the great advances in nanotechnology enable the further development of high-performance photodetectors by utilizing nanomaterials and nanostructures such as nanowires (NWs), [6,26,27] nanotubes, [28][29][30] nanosheets, [31,32] 2D materials, [33][34][35] quantum wells (QWs) [36] and quantum dots/discs (QDs). [37][38][39] Such structures possess nanoscale sizes with extreme small active volumes that enable new physics and phenomena that are distinctly different from what can be achieved in planar photodetectors, opening up new opportunities to develop the next-generation low-cost, large-scale and high-performance photodetection/imaging systems.…”

GHz Compact Laser Enabled by GaSb Nanowires as Saturable Absorbers

“…Semiconductor nanowires (NWs), exhibiting the intrinsic quantum‐confined 1D structure, have been intensively studied as building blocks for the fabrication of nanoelectronics and photonic devices. [ 19–25 ] Significantly, the electrical and optical properties of NWs can be effectively tuned by controlling the sizes, shapes, and compositions, providing a viable route for tailoring light–matter interaction and achieving the generation, amplification, propagation, and modulation of light on the nanoscale. [ 8,25,26 ]…”

“…Semiconductor nanowires (NWs), exhibiting the intrinsic quantum-confined 1D structure, have been intensively studied as building blocks for the fabrication of nanoelectronics and photonic devices. [19][20][21][22][23][24][25] Significantly, the electrical and optical properties of NWs can be effectively tuned by controlling the sizes, shapes, and compositions, providing a viable route for tailoring light-matter interaction and achieving the generation, amplification, propagation, and modulation of light on the nanoscale. [8,25,26] Owing to the high carrier mobility, narrow bandgap, tunable light absorption, strong spin-orbit interaction, and considerable subwavelength size effect at room temperature, III-Sb NWs have attracted research attention in the fields of electronics, optoelectronics, and spintronics in the past decades.…”