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Infrared rectification in a nanoantenna-coupled metal-oxide-semiconductor tunnel diode

Nature Nanotechnology volume 10, pages 1033–1038 (2015)Cite this article

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Abstract

Direct rectification of electromagnetic radiation is a well-established method for wireless power conversion in the microwave region of the spectrum, for which conversion efficiencies in excess of 84% have been demonstrated1,2,3,4,5,6. Scaling to the infrared or optical part of the spectrum requires ultrafast rectification7,8,9,10 that can only be obtained by direct tunnelling11,12. Many research groups have looked to plasmonics to overcome antenna-scaling limits and to increase the confinement10,13,14,15,16,17,18,19,20,21. Recently, surface plasmons on heavily doped Si surfaces were investigated as a way of extending surface-mode confinement to the thermal infrared region22. Here we combine a nanostructured metallic surface with a heavily doped Si infrared-reflective ground plane designed to confine infrared radiation in an active electronic direct-conversion device. The interplay of strong infrared photon–phonon coupling and electromagnetic confinement in nanoscale devices is demonstrated to have a large impact on ultrafast electronic tunnelling in metal–oxide–semiconductor (MOS) structures. Infrared dispersion of SiO2 near a longitudinal optical (LO) phonon mode gives large transverse-field confinement in a nanometre-scale oxide-tunnel gap as the wavelength-dependent permittivity changes from 1 to 0, which leads to enhanced electromagnetic fields at material interfaces and a rectified displacement current that provides a direct conversion of infrared radiation into electric current. The spectral and electrical signatures of the nanoantenna-coupled tunnel diodes are examined under broadband blackbody and quantum-cascade laser (QCL) illumination. In the region near the LO phonon resonance, we obtained a measured photoresponsivity of 2.7 mA W–1 cm–2 at −0.1 V.

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Figure 1: Illustration of the nanoantenna-coupled n-type MOS tunnel diode and rectification mechanism.
Figure 2: Infrared complex dielectric function of SiO2 and comparison of computed and measured reflectance from a nanoantenna-coupled device.
Figure 3: Simulated finite-difference time-domain complex electric-field profiles in nanoantenna-coupled MOS diodes at relevant wavelengths in the thermal infrared region.
Figure 4: Coherent QCL-illumination photocurrent measurement.
Figure 5: Electrical and spectral characteristics of the broadband BB illumination of the nanoantenna-coupled MOS tunnel-diode structure.

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Acknowledgements

P.S.D. thanks P. Rakich from Yale University and W. Burckel and R. Sanchez from Sandia for many useful and enlightening discussions. Funding for this work was provided by Sandia's Laboratory Directed Research and Development program and the US Department of Defense. Sandia is a multiprogramme laboratory operated by Sandia Corporation, a Lockheed Martin Company, for the US Department of Energy's National Nuclear Security Administration under contract DE-AC04-94AL85000.

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  1. Sandia National Laboratories, Albuquerque, 87185, New Mexico, USA

    Paul S. Davids, Robert L. Jarecki, Andrew Starbuck, D. Bruce Burckel, Emil A. Kadlec, Troy Ribaudo, Eric A. Shaner & David W. Peters

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Contributions

P.S.D. conceived and led the project. D.W.P., D.B.B. and P.S.D. designed and simulated the antenna. R.L.J. and A.S. developed the fabrication process and fabricated the devices. E.A.K., T.R., E.A.S. and P.S.D. performed the infrared experimental characterization of the devices.

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Correspondence to Paul S. Davids.

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Davids, P., Jarecki, R., Starbuck, A. et al. Infrared rectification in a nanoantenna-coupled metal-oxide-semiconductor tunnel diode. Nature Nanotech 10, 1033–1038 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1038/nnano.2015.216

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