Photodetectors based on nanowires

Context

Thanks to their nanometer-scale detection area and their bottom up fabrication process, nanowire photodetectors promise high sensitivity, ultra-fast response, and very large scale integration.

Semiconducting nanowire feature unique properties for photodetection thanks to their reduced dimensions, waveguiding properties, and high surface-to-volume ratio. They concentrate light in a similar way to a concentrating lens. Furthermore, nanowires showed photoconductive or impact-ionization gain with ps time response (see here ).

Also, nanowires can be synthesized on silicon, which opens the possibility of monolithic integration of detector and readout.