Self-powered, superior high gain silicon-based near-infrared photosensing for low-power light communication

Although Silicon (Si) is the cornerstone of state-of-the-art integrated circuit, Si photonics still suffer many challenges regarding low-power consumption, high-integrated and miniaturization. Herein, by combining the pyro-phototronic effect and quantum tunneling effect, we develop a self-powered Si-based near-infrared (NIR) photodetector (PD) with ultrafast response-speed, high gain and excellent wavelength selectivity. The fabricated p-Si/Al2O3/n-ZnO NWs heterojuncted NIR PD exhibits a superior photoresponsivity up to 0.41 A W-1 and detectivity higher than 3.68 x 10(12) Jones, with the photoresponse time as low as 15 mu s. These results are much better than most of the previously reported NIR PDs based on semiconductor nanowires and even other emerging two-dimensional (2D) materials. Furthermore, the fabricated NIR PD is then used as a self-powered signal receiver to construct a low-power NIR light communication system that can decode and transmit the encoded NIR signals from a commercial remote controller. This work not only provides in-depth understandings about the pyro-phototronic effect and quantum tunneling effect in Si-based heterojuncted structures, but also indicates their potential applications in low-power communication systems.