Synergistic Effects of Plasmonics and Electron Trapping in Graphene Short-Wave Infrared Photodetectors with Ultrahigh Responsivity

Graphene's unique electronic and optical properties have made it an attractive material for developing ultrafast short-wave infrared (SWIR) photodetectors. However, the performance of graphene SWIR photodetectors has been limited by the low optical absorption of graphene as well as the ultrashort lifetime of photoinduced carriers. Here, we present two mechanisms to overcome these two shortages and demonstrate a graphene-based SWIR photodetector with high responsivity and fast photoresponse. In particular, a vertical built-in field is employed in the graphene channel for trapping the photoinduced electrons and leaving holes in graphene, which results in prolonged photoinduced carrier lifetime. On the other hand, plasmonic effects were employed to realize photon trapping and enhance the light absorption of graphene. Thanks to the above two mechanisms, the responsivity of this proposed SWIR photodetector is up to a record of 83 A/W at a wavelength of 1.55 μm with a fast rising time of less than 600 ns. This device design concept addresses key challenges for high-performance graphene SWIR photodetectors and is promising for the development of mid/far-infrared optoelectronic applications.