Simple Unbiased Hot-Electron Polarization-Sensitive Near-Infrared Photodetector

Plasmonic nanostructures can generate energetic “hot” electrons from light in a broad band fashion depending on their shape, size, and arrangement. Such structures have a promising use in photodetectors, allowing high speed, broad band, and multicolor photodetection. Because they function without a band gap absorption, photon detection at any energy would be possible through engineering of the plasmonic nanostructure. Herein, a compact hot-electron-based photodetector that combines polarization sensitivity and circularly polarized light detection in the near-infrared region was fabricated using an indium tin oxide (ITO)–Au hybrid layer. Furthermore, the sensitivity of the device was significantly increased by adding a poled Azo molecular glass film in a capacitor configuration. The resulting device is capable of detecting light below the ITO band gap at ambient temperature without any bias voltage. This photodetector, which is amenable to large-area fabrication, can be integrated with other nanophotonic and nanoplasmonic structures for operation at telecom wavelengths