Enabling highly efficient infrared silicon photodetectors via disordered metasurfaces with upconversion nanoparticles
Silicon photodetectors are highly desirable for their CMOS compatibility, low cost, and fast response speed. However, their applications in the infrared (IR) regime are inherently limited by the intrinsic bandgap of silicon, which limits the detection wavelengths to being below 1.1 μm. Although several methods have been developed to extend silicon photodetectors further in the IR range, these approaches often introduce additional challenges. Here, we present an approach to overcome these limitations by integrating disordered metasurfaces with upconversion nanoparticles, enabling IR detection by silicon photodetectors. The disordered design consisting of hybrid Mie-plasmonic cavities can enhance both the near-field localization and wide-band light absorption. The measured responsivity of the disordered element for 1550-nm laser is 0.22 A/W at room temperature, corresponding to an external quantum efficiency of 17.6%. Our design not only enhances the photocurrent performance, but also extends the working wavelength of silicon photodetectors to IR spectrum applications.
Authors
- Xiaodong Shi (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9154-6663)
- Joel K. W. Yang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3301-1040)
- Jiaqing Shen (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0007-2203-4454)
- Jinfeng Zhu (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3666-6763)
- Y. H. Wu (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1201-5053)
- Qijie Wang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9910-1455)
- Di Zhu (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0210-1860)
- Henry Yit Loong Lee
- Zhaogang Dong (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0929-7723)
- Shutao Zhang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9343-5550)
- Wei Chen (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0103-3149)
- Chongwu Wang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8749-196X)
- Febiana Tjiptoharsono (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0002-7176-6479)
- Yan Liu (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4969-1888)
- Xuran Zhang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0004-9882-2316)
Institutions
- Agency for Science, Technology and Research (SG)
- Centre for Quantum Technologies (SG)
- Singapore University of Technology and Design (SG)
- National University of Singapore (SG)
- Nanyang Technological University (SG)
- Xiamen University (CN)
- Singapore-HUJ Alliance for Research and Enterprise (SG)
- Institute of Materials Research and Engineering (SG)
- Singapore-MIT Alliance for Research and Technology (SG)
- Xiamen University of Technology (CN)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Science Advances
- Published
- 2025-10-24
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.adx7783
- Citations
- 4
- Primary Topic
- Metamaterials and Metasurfaces Applications
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 1.71