Near-omnidirectional InP nanowire-HBT photodetectors

A photodetector comprising:

• an indium phosphide (InP)-based heterojunction bipolar transistor (HBT) device including a collector layer, a base layer formed on the collector layer and an emitter layer formed on the base layer;
• and
• a nanowire array electrically coupled to the base layer, said nanowire array including a first sub-array positioned on one side of the emitter layer and second sub-array positioned on an opposite side of the emitter layer, each sub-array including a plurality of spaced apart and conical-shaped InP nanowires encased in a transparent medium, said plurality of nanowires being operable to absorb light over a wavelength band of 400-925 nm and convert the light to an electrical signal that is received by the base layer, wherein the nanowire array is separate from and formed directly on and in electrical contact with the base layer and laterally adjacent to the emitter layer.

A detector comprising:

• a semiconductor device;
• and
• a nanowire array electrically coupled to the semiconductor device, said nanowire array including a plurality of spaced apart nanowires and an InP layer electrically coupled to the plurality of nanowires, said plurality of nanowires being operable to absorb radiation over a predetermined wavelength band and convert the radiation to an electrical signal that is received and amplified by the semiconductor device, wherein the semiconductor device is a high electron mobility transistor (HEMT) device including a channel layer, and wherein the nanowire array and the HEMT device are spaced apart on a common substrate and the InP layer is electrically coupled to the channel layer by a conductive bridge.