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Mid-infrared semimetal polarization detectors with configurable polarity transition

Nature Photonics volume 15, pages 614–621 (2021)Cite this article

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Abstract

On-chip polarization-sensitive photodetectors offer unique opportunities for next-generation ultra-compact polarimeters. So far, mainstream approaches have relied on the anisotropic absorption of natural materials or artificial structures. However, such a model is inherently restricted by correlation between the polarization ratio (PR) and diattenuation, leading to small PR values (1 < PR < 10). Here, we report nanoantenna-mediated semimetal photodetectors, which enable configurable polarity transition by exploiting the vectorial and non-local photoresponse in semimetals. By tuning the orientation of nanoantennas, PR values vary from positive (unipolar regime) to negative (bipolar regime), covering all possible numbers (1 → ∞/−∞ → −1). In particular, the PR values at the polarity-transition point could approach infinity. Such a polarity transition hereby transcends the conventional PR–diattenuation relationship. Furthermore, our device allows the subtle measurement of polarization-angle perturbation down to 0.02° Hz−1/2 in the mid-infrared range. Our findings highlight the potential of semimetals as a promising material platform for miniaturized polarimetry.

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Fig. 1: Design principles and main results of our designed nanoantenna-mediated semimetal photodetectors.
Fig. 2: Polarization- and orientation-dependent photoresponse in tapered nanoantennas on graphene.
Fig. 3: Geometrically tunable transition of polarization dependence.
Fig. 4: Electrically tunable transition of polarization dependence.
Fig. 5: Measurement of small polarization-angle perturbation.

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Data availability

All technical details for producing the figures are enclosed in the Supplementary Information. Data are available from the corresponding authors C.-W.Q. or C.L. upon request.

Code availability

All technical details for implementing the simulation of nanoantenna-driven photocurrents in graphene are enclosed in the Supplementary Information. Python codes are available from the corresponding authors C.-W.Q. or C.L. upon request.

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Acknowledgements

We thank Y. Li, G. Hu and X. Le for helpful discussions. This research was supported by the National Research Foundation Singapore (Grant No. NRF-CRP15-2015-02). C.-W.Q. acknowledges financial support from the National Research Foundation, Prime Minister’s Office, Singapore under Competitive Research Program Award NRF-CRP22-2019-0006. C.-W.Q. is also supported by a grant (R-261-518-004-720) from Advanced Research and Technology Innovation Centre (ARTIC).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, National University of Singapore, Singapore, Singapore

    Jingxuan Wei, Cheng Xu, Bowei Dong, Cheng-Wei Qiu & Chengkuo Lee

  2. Center for Intelligent Sensors and MEMS, National University of Singapore, Singapore, Singapore

    Jingxuan Wei, Cheng Xu, Bowei Dong & Chengkuo Lee

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  1. Jingxuan Wei
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Contributions

J.W., C.-W.Q. and C.L. conceived the project. J.W. did the theoretical analysis, numerical simulation and sample fabrication. J.W. carried out the device characterization with assistance from C.X. and B.D. All authors discussed the results. J.W., C.-W.Q. and C.L. wrote the manuscript with comments from all authors. C.-W.Q. and C.L. supervised the project.

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Correspondence to Cheng-Wei Qiu or Chengkuo Lee.

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Peer review information Nature Photonics thanks the anonymous reviewers for their contribution to the peer review of this work.

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Supplementary Information

Supplementary Notes 1–6, Figs. 1–27 and Tables 1–3.

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Wei, J., Xu, C., Dong, B. et al. Mid-infrared semimetal polarization detectors with configurable polarity transition. Nat. Photon. 15, 614–621 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41566-021-00819-6

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