Macroscopic assembled graphene nanofilms based room temperature ultrafast mid-infrared photodetectors

Graphene with linear energy dispersion and weak electron-phonon interaction is highly anticipated to harvest hot electrons in a broad wavelength range. However, the limited absorption and serious backscattering of hot-electrons result in inadequate quantum yields, especially in the mid-infrared range. Here, we report a macroscopic assembled graphene (nMAG) nanofilm/silicon heterojunction for ultrafast mid-infrared photodetection. The assembled Schottky diode works in 1.5-4.0 mu m at room temperature with fast response (20-30 ns, rising time, 4 mm(2) window) and high detectivity (1.6 x 10(11) to 1.9 x 10(9) Jones from 1.5 to 4.0 mu m) under the pulsed laser, outperforming single-layer-graphene/silicon photodetectors by 2-8 orders. These performances are attributed to the greatly enhanced photo-thermionic effect of electrons in nMAG due to its high light absorption (similar to 40%), long carrier relaxation time (similar to 20 ps), low work function (4.52 eV), and suppressed carrier number fluctuation. The nMAG provides a long-range platform to understand the hot-carrier dynamics in bulk 2D materials, leading to broadband and ultrafast MIR active imaging devices at room temperature.

Automated summary

Researchers have developed a macroscopic assembled graphene/silicon heterojunction for ultrafast mid-infrared photodetection. This new structure exhibits fast response and high sensitivity at room temperature, outperforming traditional single-layer graphene/silicon photodetectors.