Broadband Room-Temperature Photodetection via InBiTe₃ Nanosheet

Broadband room-temperature photodetection has become a pressing need as application requirements for communication, imaging, spectroscopy, and sensing have evolved. Topological insulators (TIs) have narrow bandgap structures with a wide absorption spectral response range, which should meet the requirements of broadband detection. However, owing to their high carrier concentration and low carrier mobility resulting in poor noise equivalent power (NEP), they are generally considered unsuitable for photodetection. Here, InBiTe₃ alloy nanosheet formed by doping In₂Te₃ into Bi₂Te₃(≈ 1:1) is utilized, effectively improving carrier mobility by over ten times while maintaining a narrow bandgap structure, to fabricate a broadband photodetector covering a wide response range from visible to millimeter wave (MMW). Under the synergistic multi-mechanism of the photoelectric effect in the visible-infrared region and the electromagnetic-induced potential well (EIW) effect in Terahertz band, the performance of NEP = 75 pW Hz^-1/2 and response time τ ≈100 µs in visible to infrared band and the performance of NEP = 6.7 × 10^-3 pW Hz^-1/2, τ ≈8 µs in Terahertz region are achieved. The results demonstrate the promising prospects of topological insulator alloy (like InBiTe₃) nanosheet in optoelectronic detection applications and provide a direction for the research into high-performance broadband photoelectric detectors via TIs.