Electrical-gain-assisted circularly polarized photodetection based on chiral plasmonic metamaterials

Chenghao Chen; Zhenhai Yang; Tianyi Hang; Yining Hao; Yijing Chen; Chengzhuang Zhang; Jiong Yang; Xiaoyi Liu; Xiaofeng Li; Guoyang Cao

doi:10.1038/s41377-025-01932-9

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Electrical-gain-assisted circularly polarized photodetection based on chiral plasmonic metamaterials

Original Articles

- Electrical-gain-assisted circularly polarized photodetection based on chiral plasmonic metamaterials
- Light: Science & Applications Vol. 14, Issue 9, Pages: 2809-2820(2025)
- Affiliations：
  
  1.School of Optoelectronic Science and Engineering & Collaborative Innovation Center of Suzhou Nano Science and Technology, Soochow University, Suzhou, China
  2.Key Laboratory of Advanced Optical Manufacturing Technologies of Jiangsu Province & Key Laboratory of Modern Optical Technologies of the Ministry of Education, Soochow University, Suzhou, China
  3.Engineering Research Center of Digital Graphic and Next-Generation Printing of Jiangsu Province, Soochow University, Suzhou, China
- Author bio：
  
  Zhenhai Yang (zhyang@suda.edu.cn)
  Xiaofeng Li (xfli@suda.edu.cn)
  Guoyang Cao (gycao@suda.edu.cn)
- Funds：
- DOI：10.1038/s41377-025-01932-9
  CLC：
- Received：03 December 2024，
  
  Revised：2025-05-04，
  
  Accepted：22 June 2025，
  
  Published Online：11 August 2025，
  
  Published：30 September 2025
- Accepted：
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Chen, C. H. et al. Electrical-gain-assisted circularly polarized photodetection based on chiral plasmonic metamaterials. Light: Science & Applications, 14, 2809-2820 (2025).
DOI：

Chen, C. H. et al. Electrical-gain-assisted circularly polarized photodetection based on chiral plasmonic metamaterials. Light: Science & Applications, 14, 2809-2820 (2025). DOI： 10.1038/s41377-025-01932-9.

摘要

Abstract

Circularly polarized light (CPL) detectors based on chiral organic materials or inorganic structures hold great potential for highly integrated on-chip applications; however

these devices usually have to seek an optimal balance among the asymmetry factor (

)

responsivity (

)

and stability. Here

we aim to break such a limitation by combining chiral inorganic plasmonic metamaterials with electrical gain

by which one can enhance both

and

while simultaneously securing the stability. We demonstrate a CPL detector based on "S"-shaped chiral Ag nanowires/InAs/Si heterostructures

where the meticulous construction of the "S"-shaped chiral Ag nanowires with the overlaying InAs channel enables a substantial absorption asymmetry in InAs due to differentiated localized surface plasmon resonances excited by left- and right-circularly polarized (LCP and RCP) light. The InAs serves as a conductive channel

achieving significant electrical gain through photoconductive effects assisted by photogating

gate modulation

and trap effects. The proposed inorganic stable device exhibits a high electrical

of ~1.56

an ultra-high

of ~33

900 A W

−1

a large specific detectivity of ~1.8 × 10

Jones

and an ultra-short response time of ~23 ns

with the high performance achieved in a broad spectral range from 2 μm to 2.8 μm. Ultimately

by encoding ASCII code 1 and 0 onto LCP and RCP light

respectively

and leveraging the device's heightened discrimination and response performance to these polarizations

we demonstrate a simple yet key-free optical encryption communication scheme a

t the device level

highlighting its extensive potential for system-level applications.

关键词

Keywords

references

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