Plasmonic nanostructure enhanced graphene-based photodetectors

Graphene exhibits electrical and optical properties promising for future applications in ultra-fast photonics [1]. High carrier mobility and Fermi velocity [2, 3] combined with its constant absorption over the visible wavelength range to the near-infrared [4] potentially allow its application for photodetection over a broad wavelength spectrum, operating at high frequencies. However, absorption being 2.3% per monolayer [4], responsivity of these devices is rather low [5, 6]. Here we show that by combining graphene-based photodetectors with metal-nanostructures, plasmonic effects lead to an increased responsivity.