Schottky infrared detectors with optically tunable barriers beyond the internal photoemission limit

Internal photoemission is a prominent branch of the photoelectric effect and has emerged as a viable method for detecting photons with energies below the semiconductor bandgap.This breakthrough has played a significant role in accelerating the development of infrared imaging in one chip with state-of-the-art silicon techniques.However,the performance of these Schottky infrared detectors is currently hindered by the limit of internal photoemission;specifically,a low Schottky barrier height is inevitable for the detection of low-energy infrared photons.Herein,a distinct paradigm of Schottky infrared detectors is proposed to overcome the internal photoemission limit by introducing an optically tunable barrier.This device uses an infrared absorbing material-sensitized Schottky diode,assisted by the highly adjustable Fermi level of graphene,which subtly decouples the photon energy from the Schottky barrier height.Correspondingly,a broadband photoresponse spanning from ultraviolet to mid-wave infrared is achieved,with a high specific detectivity of 9.83×1010 cm Hz1/2 W−1 at 2,700 nm and an excellent specific detectivity of 7.2×109 cm Hz1/2 W−1 at room temperature under blackbody radiation.These results address a key challenge in internal photoemission and hold great promise for the development of the Schottky infrared detector with high sensitivity and room temperature operation.