In this paper, we have analyzed metal-semiconductor-metal photodetectors (MSM-PDs) with different nano-grating structures or shapes to improve the light absorption capacity into the device in details for high-speed communication systems and networks. The plasmonic-based MSM-PD structure demonstrates a significant improvement in light absorption capacity for the developed device compared to conventional MSM-PDs i.e., devices that have not employed the nano-gratings. The light absorption capacity of the device is varied with the variation of geometrical shapes and parameters of the nano-gratings, such as the nano-grating height, slit width and so on. These nano-grating structures are assisting in light transmission through the central slit (i.e., subwavelength apertures) efficiently, resulting in the excitation of surface plasmon polaritons (SPPs) as the incident photons interact with the nano-gratings/ nano-corrugations. This improved light transmission in the central slit along with excited SPPs results in resonant light absorption in the device. This means the light trapped inside the central slit is triggered by the SPPs to a higher order magnitude. This causes the light absorption enhancement for the device, i.e., more light is transmitted through the device instead of reflecting back to the surface. The simulation results demonstrated that the light absorption enhancement factor (LAEF) for these devices have improved dramatically due to the nano-gratings. For modeling and simulation of these devices, Opti-FDTD tool is used which is based on finite difference time domain (FDTD) method. The application of these simulated devices is in the range of 800-850-nm. The simulation results are suitable for the design of nano-structured MSM-PDs that can be used in high-speed communication systems and sensor network systems.

The primary focus of this review article mainly emphasizes the light absorption enhancement for various nanostructured gratings assisted metal-semiconductor-metal photodetectors (MSM-PDs) that are so far proposed and developed for the improvement of light capturing performance. The MSM-PDs are considered as one of the key elements in the optical and high-speed communication systems for applications such as faster optical fiber communication systems, sensor networks, high-speed chip-to-chip interconnects, and high-speed sampling. The light absorption enhancement makes the MSM-PDs an ideal candidate due to their excellent performances in detection, especially in satisfying the high-speed or high-performance device requirements. The nano-grating assisted MSM-PDs are preordained to be decorous for many emerging and existing communication device applications. There have been a significant number of research works conducted on the implementation of nano-gratings, and still, more researches are ongoing to raise the performance of MSM-PDs particularly, in terms of enhancing the light absorption potentialities. This review article aims to provide the latest update on the exertion of nano-grating structures suitable for further developments in the light absorption enhancement of the MSM-PDs.

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