Cavity coupled plasmonic resonator enhanced infrared detectors

Plasmonic structures have been widely employed to manipulate the light coupling of infrared detectors to enhance sensitivity and achieve multidimensional light field recognition. Recently, cavity coupled plasmonic resonators as an improved version of plasmonic light coupling structures have received much attention. A variety of ordinary plasmonic structure integrated infrared detectors and cavity coupled plasmonic resonator integrated infrared detectors are reviewed. Compared with ordinary plasmonic structures, cavity coupled plasmonic resonators are more effective in adjusting the light in-coupling efficiency, local field polarization, and light absorption competition, which is beneficial to performance enhancement in infrared detectors. Several features of cavity coupled plasmonic resonator integrated infrared detectors, including deep subwavelength light concentration with high efficiency, Ohmic loss suppression, high-contrast polarization discrimination, are discussed. As a brief outlook, cavity coupled plasmonic resonators for infrared detectors are expected to have optical-electrical joint functions, be compatible with focal plane array technology, and have new features stemming from innovative combinations of different kinds of cavities and plasmonic structures. Published under an exclusive license by AIP Publishing.

Automated summary

Cavity coupled plasmonic resonators, as an improved version of plasmonic light coupling structures, are more effective in adjusting the light in-coupling efficiency, local field polarization, and light absorption competition, leading to enhanced performance in infrared detectors. Several features of cavity coupled plasmonic resonator integrated infrared detectors, including deep subwavelength light concentration, Ohmic loss suppression, and high-contrast polarization discrimination, are highlighted for their potential benefits. Expectations for cavity coupled plasmonic resonators in infrared detectors include optical-electrical joint functions, compatibility with focal plane array technology, and new features from innovative combinations of different kinds of cavities and plasmonic structures.