Wavelength-scalable mid-infrared photodetectors based on photon-assisted tunneling in MIM metasurfaces Optica Publishing Group 01/01/2025 10660862 10.1364/JOSAB.571626 Journal of the Optical Society of America B 0740-3224 42 11 Parham HeidarzadehJimmy Ching-Ming ChenZhixian ZhouPai-Yen Chen We propose zero-bias, wavelength-scalable, and polarization-selective mid-infrared photodetectors based on metal–insulator–metal (MIM) metasurfaces. Specifically, these photodetectors leverage the second-order quantum conductivity sourced from photon-assisted tunneling and strong electric field localization in the MIM nanojunction to achieve efficient optical rectification. We show that by tailoring metasurface geometry, the incident infrared radiation can be efficiently coupled into the MIM heterojunction, with certain wavelength and polarization selectivity, and the optical rectification effect can be achieved with a photoresponsivity as high as tens of mA/W. Such results may pave a promising route toward the next-generation mid-infrared photodetection and energy harvesting.

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