Chen Chenghao, Yang Zhenhai, Hang Tianyi, Hao Yining, Chen Yijing, Zhang Chengzhuang, Yang Jiong, Liu Xiaoyi, Li Xiaofeng, Cao Guoyang
School of Optoelectronic Science and Engineering & Collaborative Innovation Center of Suzhou Nano Science and Technology, Soochow University, Suzhou, China.
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.
Light Sci Appl. 2025 Aug 11;14(1):265. doi: 10.1038/s41377-025-01932-9.
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 (g), responsivity (R), 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 g and R 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 g of ~1.56, an ultra-high R of ~33,900 A W, 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 at the device level, highlighting its extensive potential for system-level applications.
基于手性有机材料或无机结构的圆偏振光（CPL）探测器在高度集成的片上应用中具有巨大潜力；然而，这些器件通常必须在不对称因子（g）、响应度（R）和稳定性之间寻求最佳平衡。在此，我们旨在通过将手性无机等离子体超材料与电增益相结合来打破这种限制，通过这种方式可以在确保稳定性的同时提高g和R。我们展示了一种基于“S”形手性银纳米线/砷化铟/硅异质结构的CPL探测器，其中精心构建的“S”形手性银纳米线与覆盖的砷化铟通道相结合，由于左旋和右旋圆偏振（LCP和RCP）光激发的不同局域表面等离子体共振，使得砷化铟中产生显著的吸收不对称性。砷化铟用作导电通道，通过光闸、栅极调制和陷阱效应辅助的光电导效应实现显著的电增益。所提出的无机稳定器件表现出约1.56的高电不对称因子g、约33900 A W的超高响应度R、约1.8×10琼斯的大比探测率和约23 ns的超短响应时间，在2μm至2.8μm的宽光谱范围内实现了高性能。最终，通过分别将ASCII码1和0编码到LCP和RCP光上，并利用该器件对这些偏振的更高辨别和响应性能，我们在器件层面展示了一种简单但无密钥的光学加密通信方案，突出了其在系统级应用中的广泛潜力。
