Wavelength-selective visible-light detector based on integrated graphene transistor and surface plasmon coupler

摘要

We have invented a novel photodetector by mating a surface plasmon resonance coupler with a graphene field effect transistor. The device enables wavelength selectivity for spectral sensing applications. Surface plasmon polaritons (SPPs) are generated in a 50 nm thick Ag film on the surface of a prism in the Kretschmann configuration positioned 500 nm from a graphene FET. Incident photons of a given wavelength excite SPPs at a specific incidence angle. These SPP fields excite a transient current whose amplitude follows the angular resonance spectrum of the SPP absorption feature. Though demonstrated first at visible wavelengths, the approach can be extended far into the infrared. We also demonstrate that the resonant current is strongly modulated by gate bias applied to the FET, providing a clear path towards large-scale spectral imagers with locally addressable pixels.