title: Room-temperature photoconductivity far below the semiconductor bandgap.
abstract: A concept to stimulate photoconductivity in a semiconductor well below its bandgap in a metal-semiconductor-metal structure with sub-wavelength spacing is proposed. A potential well is induced in the semiconductor by external electromagnetic radiation to trap carriers from the metals. This opens an avenue to generate carriers by photons without adequate excitation energy and is expected to have great significance in modern materials.
authors.affiliation: National Laboratory for Infrared Physics, Shanghai Institute of Technical Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 500 Yu Tian Road, Shanghai, 200083, PR China; Key laboratory of Space Active Opto-Electronics Technology, Shanghai Institute of Technical Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 500 Yu Tian Road, Shanghai, 200083, PR China.
authors.forename: Zhiming
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Huang
authors.forename: Jinchao
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Tong
authors.forename: Jingguo
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Huang
authors.forename: Wei
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Zhou
authors.forename: Jing
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Wu
authors.forename: Yanqing
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Gao
authors.forename: Jinxing
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Lu
authors.forename: Tie
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Lin
authors.forename: Yanfeng
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Wei
authors.forename: Junhao
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Chu
keywords: below bandgap; photon detection; semiconductors