Room-temperature waveguide-integrated photodetector using bolometric effect for mid-infrared spectroscopy applications

Waveguide-integrated mid-infrared (MIR) photodetectors are pivotal components for the development of molecular spectroscopy applications, leveraging mature photonic integrated circuit (PIC) technologies. Despite various strategies, critical challenges still remain in achieving broadband photoresponse, cooling-free operation, and large-scale complementary-metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS)-compatible manufacturability. To leap beyond these limitations, the bolometric effect – a thermal detection mechanism – is introduced into the waveguide platform. More importantly, we pursue a free-carrier absorption (FCA) process in germanium (Ge) to create an efficient light-absorbing medium, providing a pragmatic solution for full coverage of the MIR spectrum without incorporating exotic materials into CMOS. Here, we present an uncooled waveguide-integrated photodetector based on a Ge-on-insulator (Ge-OI) PIC architecture, which exploits the bolometric effect combined with FCA. Notably, our device exhibits a broadband responsivity of ~ 12 mA/W across 4030–4360 nm (and potentially beyond), challenging the state of the art, while achieving a noise-equivalent power of 3.4×10 ^− 9 W/Hz ^0.5 at 4180 nm. We further demonstrate label-free sensing of gaseous carbon dioxide (CO ₂ ) using our integrated photodetector and sensing waveguide on a single chip. This approach to room-temperature waveguide-integrated MIR photodetection, harnessing bolometry with FCA in Ge, not only facilitates the realization of fully integrated lab-on-a-chip systems with wavelength flexibility but also provides a blueprint for MIR PICs with CMOS-foundry-compatibility.