Bipolar-barrier tunnel heterostructures for high-sensitivity mid-wave infrared photodetection

Fakun Wang; Song Zhu; Wenduo Chen; Ruihuan Duan; Tengfei Dai; Hui Ma; Congliao Yan; Shi Fang; Jianbo Yu; Yue Zhang; Qikan Dong; Wenjie Deng; Zheng Liu; Qi Jie Wang

doi:10.1038/s41377-025-01905-y

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Bipolar-barrier tunnel heterostructures for high-sensitivity mid-wave infrared photodetection

Original Articles

- Bipolar-barrier tunnel heterostructures for high-sensitivity mid-wave infrared photodetection
- Light: Science & Applications Vol. 14, Issue 9, Pages: 2595-2604(2025)
- Affiliations：
  
  1.School of Electrical & Electronic Engineering, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore 639798, Singapore
  2.School of Materials Science and Engineering, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore 639798, Singapore
  3.Key Laboratory of Optoelectronics Technology, Ministry of Education, School of Information Science and Technology, Beijing University of Technology, 100124 Beijing, China
  4.Centre for Disruptive Photonic Technologies, School of Physical and Mathematical Sciences, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore 637371, Singapore
- Author bio：
  
  Qi Jie Wang (qjwang@ntu.edu.sg)
- Funds：
- DOI：10.1038/s41377-025-01905-y
  CLC：
- Received：10 January 2025，
  
  Revised：2025-05-09，
  
  Accepted：21 May 2025，
  
  Published Online：21 July 2025，
  
  Published：30 September 2025
- Accepted：
Scan QR Code
Wang, F. K. et al. Bipolar-barrier tunnel heterostructures for high-sensitivity mid-wave infrared photodetection. Light: Science & Applications, 14, 2595-2604 (2025).
DOI：

Wang, F. K. et al. Bipolar-barrier tunnel heterostructures for high-sensitivity mid-wave infrared photodetection. Light: Science & Applications, 14, 2595-2604 (2025). DOI： 10.1038/s41377-025-01905-y.

摘要

Abstract

The rapid development of modern infrared optoelectronic technology has driven a growing demand for high-sensitivity mid-wave infrared (MWIR) photodetectors capable of reliable room-temperature operation. Achieving optimal specific detectivity

a critical performance metric for MWIR photodetection

remains challenging due to inherent limitations imposed such as high dark current

low optical absorption

or both. To address these challenges

we present an approach based on a bipolar-barrier architecture featuring a black phosphorus (BP)/MoTe

/BP tunnel heterostructure integrated with an Au reflector. This configuration delivers simultaneous electrical and optical enhancement

effectively suppressing dark currents and significantly increasing optical absorption. The bipolar-barrier structure minimizes dark current by blocking thermally excited and bias-induced carrier leakage

while facilitating efficient tunneling of photogenerated carri

ers via trap-assisted photogating mechanisms. In addition

the Au reflector enhances optical absorption through interference effects. As a result

the heterostructure achieves remarkable performance metrics

including a room-temperature specific detectivity of ~3.0 × 10

cm Hz

0.5

−1

a high responsivity of ~4 A W

−1

and an external quantum efficiency of ~140% within the MWIR range. These results establish the bipolar-barrier tunnel heterostructure as a highly efficient platform

paving the way for the next generation of advanced infrared optoelectronic devices.

关键词

Keywords

references

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