Enhanced and Selective Photodetection Using Graphene-Stabilized Hybrid Plasmonic Silver Nanoparticles

We report the fabrication and characteristics of a novel graphene-Ag-0 hybrid plasmonic nanostructure-based photodetector exhibiting moderately high responsivity (similar to 28 mA/W) and spectral selectivity (similar to 510 nm) in the visible wavelength. The formation of highly stable Ag-0 nanoparticles with an average size of 40 nm is observed within the graphene layers, resulting in n-type doping of hybrid material. The absorption peak of graphene-Ag-0 hybrid is redshifted to the visible wavelength (similar to 510 nm) from the plasmonic Ag peak (similar to 380 nm) in agreement with the optical simulation results for embedded metal nanoparticles. The study demonstrates the synergistic effect of the graphene-metal nanocomposite, which appears attractive for applications in graphene-based photonic devices.