High-performance, high-density, planar PbSnTe detector arrays

Lattice-Mismatched PbTe/ZnTe Heterostructure with High-Speed Midinfrared Photoresponses

“…The MIR photodetectors are of particular scientific interest and technological significance because they are involved with various important applications, including molecular characteristic vibrational transition detecting, remote sensing, free space telecommunication, and optical radars. , Due to the appropriate energy gap corresponding to MIR wavelength, narrow-gap semiconductors account for a large portion of the most widely used materials in the state-of-the-art MIR photodetectors, such as HgCdTe alloys and PbSnTe alloys. − Another alternative solution for MIR photodetectors is adopting sophisticated quantum structures like quantum wells or superlattices based on III–V group compounds, but apparently it is not cost-effective. , Moreover, these MIR photodetectors based on narrow-gap semiconductors usually require cryogenic systems to be immune from thermal noise so that they can perform well in operation. Apart from these bulk materials, the rapid development of two-dimensional (2D) materials over the past decades seems to offer the new opportunity for making a breakthrough in MIR photodetectors, and some novel MIR photodetectors have been constructed based on 2D materials, such as graphene and black phosphorus. − However, the very low light absorption and insufficient detectivity set obstacles to the practical application of 2D material MIR photodetectors .…”