Metasurface Colloidal Quantum Dot Photodetectors

Efficient photodetectors that can be easily engineered for a specific spectral window are of high interest. Here, we report on the design, fabrication, and characterization of metasurface-enhanced photodetectors and photodiodes using colloidal quantum dots. We fabricate photoconductors optimized for the wavelength range around 1550 nm featuring responsivities of up to 8000 A/W with low noise equivalent powers on the order of tens of pW/Hz. Further, we produce photodiodes with responsivities of ∼5 mA/W that offer faster responses (14 μs rise time). The high responsivities are due to the metasurface, which increases the absorption by a factor of 10 compared to that of a quantum dot thin film of the same thickness and a structure that enables a photo-gain. We introduce a metasurface to detect either of the two orthogonal polarizations. The fabricated photoconductors operate at low voltages (1–5 V), making them compatible with the complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) read-out circuitry.