Operational Analysis of a Quantum Dot Optically Gated Field-Effect Transistor as a Single-Photon Detector

Solution-Processed Nanoparticle Super-Float-Gated Organic Field-Effect Transistor as Un-cooled Ultraviolet and Infrared Photon Counter

“…Hence the Δ I SD persists even after the incident light is turned off. This is a major difference between our NPSGOFET photon counter and conventional photoconductor or diodes in which the current signal decays quickly once the light is off19202122. In the NPSGOFET, the Δ I SD is determined by the amount of absorbed photons rather than the intensity of the light, so that the device works in a photon-counting mode.…”

“…Recent advancements in light detection technologies have been shown to absorb the nanomaterial revolutions of the last decade, e.g., a quantum dot single-photon detector (QDSPD) has been developed by Shields , Yablonovitch , and Mirin for single photon detection19202122. These QDSPDs used a layer of indium arsenide QDs embedded in a thick gallium arsenide layer between the gate dielectric layer and the channel of a field effect transistor (FET) to trap the photo-generated holes in the GaAs layer19202122.…”

“…These QDSPDs used a layer of indium arsenide QDs embedded in a thick gallium arsenide layer between the gate dielectric layer and the channel of a field effect transistor (FET) to trap the photo-generated holes in the GaAs layer19202122. The trapped holes in the QDs screen the gate voltage and thus act as an optical addressable floating gate, resulting in a persistent change in the channel current.…”

“…The trapped holes in the QDs screen the gate voltage and thus act as an optical addressable floating gate, resulting in a persistent change in the channel current. However, these QDSPDs require expensive and slow epitaxial growth in ultrahigh vacuum192021; and the QDSPDs only work at an extremely low temperature of ~4 K in order to confine charges in QDs. It is unlikely these QDSPDs can be widely employed for low-cost applications.…”

Novel Semiconductor Single-Photon Detectors

“…In addition, studies on unmasked QDOGFETs indicate that photons absorbed in the ungated portions of the channel mesa (near the edges of the active region) also affect the channel current [61]. Consequently, the channel current provides a direct measure of the number of detected photons.…”