Plasmonic photodetector with terahertz electrical bandwidth

We propose and investigate a surface plasmon photodetector concept, based on the enhancement of electrical near-field in low-defect, low-doped In0.53Ga0.47As detection volumes located in the gaps of an array of metal nanodipole antennas. We report enhancement in responsivity in the presence of nanodipoles and predict a maximum responsivity of ∼100 mA/W at wavelengths near 1550 nm. The 3 dB electrical bandwidth of the device is estimated based on its RC rise time and the hole transit time through the detection volume for the cases of conventional and ballistic transport in InGaAs and is found to range from ∼0.7 to 4 THz. Also, trends are observed relating the responsivity to the gap dimensions, revealing a trade-off between the field-enhancement in the gap and its volume, and leading to an optimum gap length producing the maximum responsivity.