Enabling highly efficient infrared silicon photodetectors via disordered metasurfaces with upconversion nanoparticles

Enabling highly efficient infrared silicon photodetectors via disordered metasurfaces with upconversion nanoparticles

Science Advances

10.1126/sciadv.adx7783

https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.adx7783

Wei Chen, Shutao Zhang, Chongwu Wang, Yiming Wu, Xiaodong Shi, Jiaqing Shen, Yan Liu, Xuran Zhang, Febiana Tjiptoharsono, Henry Yit Loong Lee, Di Zhu, QiJie Wang, Joel K. W. Yang, Jinfeng Zhu, Zhaogang Dong

Electrical and Electronic Engineering

24 October 2025

Chen, W., Zhang, S., Wang, C., Wu, Y., Shi, X., Shen, J., Liu, Y., Zhang, X., Tjiptoharsono, F., Lee, H. Y. L., Zhu, D., Wang, Q., Yang, J. K. W., Zhu, J., & Dong, Z. (2025). Enabling highly efficient infrared silicon photodetectors via disordered metasurfaces with upconversion nanoparticles. Science Advances, 11(43). https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.adx7783

Silicon photodetectors are highly desirable for their CMOS compatibility, low cost, and fast response speed. However, their applications in the infrared (IR) regime are inherently limited by the intrinsic bandgap of silicon, which limits the detection wavelengths to being below 1.1 μm. Although several methods have been developed to extend silicon photodetectors further in the IR range, these approaches often introduce additional challenges. Here, we present an approach to overcome these limitations by integrating disordered metasurfaces with upconversion nanoparticles, enabling IR detection by silicon photodetectors. The disordered design consisting of hybrid Mie-plasmonic cavities can enhance both the near-field localization and wide-band light absorption. The measured responsivity of the disordered element for 1550-nm laser is 0.22 A/W at room temperature, corresponding to an external quantum efficiency of 17.6%. Our design not only enhances the photocurrent performance, but also extends the working wavelength of silicon photodetectors to IR spectrum applications.

Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International (CC BY-NC 4.0)

This research / project is supported by the National Research Foundation (NRF) - Competitive Research Programme
Grant Reference no. : NRF-CRP30- 2023- 0003

This research / project is supported by the Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR) - Manufacturing, Trade, and Connectivity Individual Research Grant
Grant Reference no. : M21K2c0116

This research / project is supported by the Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR) - Manufacturing, Trade, and Connectivity Individual Research Grant
Grant Reference no. : M22K2c0088

This research / project is supported by the Singapore University of Technology and Design (SUTD) - Kickstarter Initiative (SKI)
Grant Reference no. : SKI 2021_06_05

This research / project is supported by the National Research Foundation (NRF) - Competitive Research Programme
Grant Reference no. : NRF-CRP20- 2017- 0001

This research / project is supported by the National Research Foundation (NRF) - NRF Investigatorship
Grant Reference no. : NRF-N RFI06-2020- 0005

This research / project is supported by the National Research Foundation (NRF) - Campus of Research Excellence and Technological Enterprise (CREATE) program.
Grant Reference no. : N.A.

This research / project is supported by the National Research Foundation (NRF) - Quantum engineering Program 2.0
Grant Reference no. : NRF2021-QEP2- 03-P09

Copyright © 2025 the Authors, some rights reserved; exclusive licensee American Association for the Advancement of Science. no claim to original U.S. Government Works. distributed under a Creative Commons Attribution non-Commercial license 4.0 (CC BY- nC).

https://oar.a-star.edu.sg/communities-collections/articles/23055

2375-2548

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https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.adx7783