Peng Yang, Liu Jun, Fu Jintao, Luo Ying, Zhao Xiangrui, Wei Xingzhan
Chongqing Institute of Green and Intelligent Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Chongqing 400714, China.
Chongqing School, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Chongqing 400714, China.
Nanomaterials (Basel). 2025 Mar 18;15(6):459. doi: 10.3390/nano15060459.
Thermal detectors, owing to their broadband spectral response and ambient operating temperature capabilities, represent a key technological avenue for surpassing the inherent limitations of traditional photon detectors. A fundamental trade-off exists between the thermal properties and the response performance of conventional thermosensitive materials (e.g., vanadium oxide and amorphous silicon), significantly hindering the simultaneous enhancement of device sensitivity and response speed. Recently, low-dimensional materials, with their atomically thin thickness leading to ultralow thermal capacitance and tunable thermoelectric properties, have emerged as a promising perspective for addressing these bottlenecks. Integrating low-dimensional materials with metasurfaces enables the utilization of subwavelength periodic configurations and localized electromagnetic field enhancements. This not only overcomes the limitation of low light absorption efficiency in thermal detectors based on low-dimensional materials (TDLMs) but also imparts full Stokes polarization detection capability, thus offering a paradigm shift towards multidimensional light field sensing. This review systematically elucidates the working principle and device architecture of TDLMs. Subsequently, it reviews recent research advancements in this field, delving into the unique advantages of metasurface design in terms of light localization and interfacial heat transfer optimization. Furthermore, it summarizes the cutting-edge applications of TDLMs in wideband communication, flexible sensing, and multidimensional photodetection. Finally, it analyzes the major challenges confronting TDLMs and provides an outlook on their future development prospects.
热探测器由于其宽带光谱响应和环境工作温度能力，是超越传统光子探测器固有局限性的关键技术途径。传统热敏材料（如氧化钒和非晶硅）的热性能和响应性能之间存在基本的权衡，这严重阻碍了器件灵敏度和响应速度的同时提高。近年来，低维材料因其原子级薄的厚度导致超低热容量和可调热电性能，成为解决这些瓶颈的一个有前景的方向。将低维材料与超表面集成能够利用亚波长周期性结构和局部电磁场增强。这不仅克服了基于低维材料的热探测器（TDLMs）中光吸收效率低的限制，还赋予了全斯托克斯偏振探测能力，从而为多维光场传感带来了范式转变。本综述系统地阐明了TDLMs的工作原理和器件结构。随后，回顾了该领域的最新研究进展，深入探讨了超表面设计在光局域化和界面传热优化方面的独特优势。此外，总结了TDLMs在宽带通信、柔性传感和多维光探测方面的前沿应用。最后，分析了TDLMs面临的主要挑战，并展望了它们未来的发展前景。
