High-performance graphene/n-Si hybrid photodetector toward self-driven optical communications

High-speed optical communication systems are built for real-time, massive, and remote information exchange; however, it is strongly reliant on the applied power. Herein, we developed a self-driven optical communication system based on a high-performance graphene/n-Si (Gr/n-Si) hybrid photodetector. Under zero bias, the Gr/n-Si device presents good performance at a wavelength of 520 nm, including the photoresponsivity of 0.27 A W-1, specific detectivity of 9.39 x 10(11) Jones, and on/off ratio of 10(4) with a rise and fall time of 128 and 131 ns, respectively. This hybrid device also exhibits 3 dB bandwidth of 2.18 MHz as well as a small noise equivalent power of 1.68 x 10(-17) W Hz(-1/2). Furthermore, an optical communication system was constructed based on this hybrid photodetector, through which the audio and text signals were steadily and accurately transmitted under zero bias. Our work lays a solid foundation to demonstrate a promising application of Gr/n-Si hybrid devices toward self-driven optical communications.

Automated summary

A self-driven optical communication system based on a high-performance graphene/n-Si hybrid photodetector was developed, showing stable signal transmission under zero bias. The hybrid device exhibited good performance at a wavelength of 520 nm with high photoresponsivity, specific detectivity, and low noise equivalent power.