IEEE SENSORS JOURNAL, VOL. 23, NO.

23, 1 DECEMBER 2023 28769

Simulation and Analysis of Plasmonic

Photodetector Based on Au Nanoparticles
and HfO2 Interlayer With Improved
Performance in Visible Spectral Region
Bharathi Raj Muthu , Dhandapani Vaithiyanathan , Member, IEEE, and Anuj K. Sharma

Abstract—This work reports on a photodetector (PD)

based on SiO2 substrate, Au nanoparticles (NPs), and
hafnium oxide (HfO2 )/aluminum oxide (Al2 O3 ) interlayer
with plasmonic enhancement of light absorption in visi-
ble spectral region. Finite difference time domain (FDTD)
methodology is used for simulation. The results show that a
surrounding medium with higher refractive index (RI) leads to
greater absorption with plasmonic enhancement. A thin HfO2
layer (1–2 nm) further increases the light absorption leading
to higher magnitudes of quantum efficiency (η) and respon-
sivity (ρ). Additionally, this HfO2 layer causes the operating
wavelength (λ0 , related to peak absorption magnitude “A”) to
considerably red-shift leading to decrease in the scattering
(3 = 1/λ40 ) of incident light. HfO2 -based PD design operating at 594.67 nm provides the values of η and ρ as large as
0.498 and 0.239 A/W, respectively, with 3 as small as 7.99 µm−4 . Furthermore, a possible practical implementation of
the HfO2 -assisted PD design is reported while analyzing it with Au electrodes and 10-nm-thick zinc oxide (ZnO) layer.
This analysis comprises of dark current (Idark ) estimation followed by detectivity (D) evaluation. SiO2 –HfO2 (1 nm)–ZnO
(10 nm)–Au NP (6 nm radius) structure (with surrounding medium RI = 1.33) achieves that the values of A, λ0 , η, ρ, 3,
Idark , and D are 0.312 a.u., 587.96 nm, 0.476, 0.225 A/W, 8.367 µm−4 , 3.6 × 10−16 A, and 1.48 × 1012 Jones, respectively.
Furthermore, the proposed PD design is able to provide superior performance (i.e., small Idark and 3 along with large
values of D and ρ) compared to recently reported PD designs.
Index Terms— Absorption, dark current, detectivity, nanoparticle (NP), photodetector (PD), plasmon, quantum effi-
ciency, responsivity.

I. I NTRODUCTION munications, environmental monitoring, and sensing. CMOS

PHOTODETECTOR (PD) is a device that transforms
A optical signals into electrical signals. It now forms a
crucial component of optoelectronic circuits and has numerous
uses in image sensing, consumer electronics, optical com-
Manuscript received 9 August 2023; revised 30 September 2023;
accepted 30 September 2023. Date of publication 16 October
2023; date of current version 30 November 2023. The work
of Dhandapani Vaithiyanathan was supported by the Chips to
Startup (C2S) grant from Ministry of Electronics and Informa-
tion Technology (MeitY), India. The work of Anuj K. Sharma
was partially supported by the Science & Engineering Research
Board (SERB), India under the grant CRG/2019/002636. The asso-
ciate editor coordinating the review of this article and approv-
ing it for publication was Dr. Rui Min. (Corresponding author:
Anuj K. Sharma.)
Bharathi Raj Muthu and Dhandapani Vaithiyanathan are with the
Department of Electronics and Communication Engineering, National
Institute of Technology (NIT) Delhi, Delhi 110036, India (e-mail:
mbharathiraj@yahoo.in; dvaithiyanathan@nitdelhi.ac.in).
Anuj K. Sharma is with the Department of Applied Sciences (Physics
Division), National Institute of Technology Delhi, Delhi 110036, India
(e-mail: anujsharma@nitdelhi.ac.in).
Digital Object Identifier 10.1109/JSEN.2023.3323470
technology allows for the integration of electronics with opti-
cal devices [1], [2]. Due to inefficient bandgap of silicon (Si),
PDs used in infrared region rely more on InGaAs than on Si.
However, due to cost and integration issues, the above mate-
rials are primarily used in high-value markets despite having
excellent quantum efficiency, electron mobility, and thermal
resistance [3]. The combination of graphene-Si-based image
sensor works in a spectral range as wide as 300–2000 nm [4].
Perovskites in combination with Si and indium-tin oxide (ITO)
can also be used in PD and other applications with low noise
and high detection range [5].
The flexible PDs with high performance can be developed
using layered structure transition metal dichalcogenide (TMD)
materials, which have tunable optoelectronic properties and
optical transparency. The key parameters enhanced are photon
absorption capacity, lifetime of the charge carriers, and the
cutoff wavelength of the PDs [6]. The TMDs provide improved
photosensitivity and design flexibility, but they usually fail
to withstand temperatures above 300 ◦ C. However, PDs with

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28770
some heterostructure protection may enable them to operate
at temperatures up to 700 ◦ C [7]. The group VI TMDs,
which have direct energy gaps in the near infrared (NIR) to
visible spectrum, provide some relief since the 2-D membranes
create a van der Waal structure leading to good electrical
and optical properties with small bandgap [8]. The critical
coupling mechanism is also utilized to absorb the light more
efficiently at the interface and highly adopted for atomically
thin materials, such as MoS2 monolayer. The improvement
in absorption helps to use this methodology in PDs and
photoluminescence applications [9].
As a charge-trapping layer, hafnium oxide (HfO2 ) thin
film may improve the photoresponse by encasing the charge
carriers produced by the light source. This results in improved
response, detection, and photogain even during low-power
operation and weak light detection. In the development of
phototransistors, the HfO2 serves as both a dielectric and a
charge trap [10]. Moreover, aluminum oxide (Al2 O3 ) may also
function as a charge-trapping layer and may aid in maintaining
the PD’s steady operation [11]. Due to the abovementioned
absorption manipulation, the dye-sensitized solar cells have
69% improvement in the efficiency with HfO2 and 19% with
Al2 O3 [12]. Furthermore, HfO2 layer also assists in blocking
the back reaction effect of electrons resulting in improved
photoconversion efficiency [13]. The increase in the mobility
of electrons and holes and reduced surface recombination
velocity may help to develop high-efficiency solar cells with
greater magnitudes of light absorption [14]. Nanocomposite-
based PDs further provide better photodetection capability
with several advantages when used in sensors and photoelec-
tric switches [15].
The manipulation of light is crucial for the development
of high-performance PDs applicable in broadband spectral
range. For this, localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR)
emanating from various types of nanoparticles (NPs) can
be implemented [16]. A recent study has explicitly empha-
sized that the LSPR technique can enable photodetection
in NIR range [17]. Some PDs employ the metal–insulator–
metal (MIM) structure with multistack, i.e., MIMIM, in which
NPs are used to induce the plasmonic response in combi-
nation with Al2 O3 and HfO2 insulators [18]. The thin HfO2
film functions as an electron-blocking layer in organic PDs,
assisting in the reduction of leakage current. Due to the
organic PD’s tunneling effect, the photocurrent grows while
the leakage current is incredibly low compared to Al2 O3 [19].
Recent study confirms the overcoming of stability degradation
by the use of Al2 O3 and HfO2 thin films. When exposed
to the atmospheric environment at certain temperature and
humidity, the air stability along with lifetime of the PD is
very good enough compared to PDs without thin films [20].
The ability to construct nanostructures, such as hexagonal
nanoporous thin films with pores of 320 nm, reduces the
bandgap, which improves absorption in the visible spectral
range. Furthermore, the photoelectrical response of the PD
is quite high with the tunneling hot electrons from the
TiN layer [21].
In this study, we have proposed and analyzed a
plasmonics-based PD design with SiO2 substrate assisted
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IEEE SENSORS JOURNAL, VOL. 23, NO. 23, 1 DECEMBER 2023
Fig. 1. Proposed plasmonics-based multilayered PD design with thin
films incorporated for the simulation. (a) Top view. (b) Perspective view.
(c) Cross-sectional view. (d) Inset shows the arrangement of the NPs
and thin films stack.
by thin films of HfO2 and/or Al2 O3 along with Au NPs.
The concerned nanostructures are simulated in the Lumer-
ical multiphysics software using the finite difference time
domain (FDTD) methodology, and the detailed absorption and
transmission spectra are analyzed in order to observe the PD
performance parameters, i.e., quantum efficiency, responsivity,
and scattering factor. The presence of Au NPs in the PD
design ensures the localized excitation of surface plasmons
(SPs) leading to increased absorption of light mainly in visible
spectral range. The corresponding electrical simulations are
also carried out to analyze the dark current and detectiv-
ity of the proposed PD design. The key objectives of this
study are to demonstrate that: 1) Au NPs improve the opti-
cal absorption through plasmonic enhancement effect under
different surrounding media (from air to aqueous medium);
2) inclusion of the thin film of HfO2 and/or Al2 O3 further
improves the absorption of photons leading to enhanced per-
formance of the PD; and 3) proposing a strategy to practically
implement the PD design with performance better than the
corresponding PDs existing in the related state of the art.
II. D EVICE C ONFIGURATION AND S IMULATION
M ETHODOLOGY
As shown in Fig. 1, the proposed PD design is based on
SiO2 substrate of thickness 500 nm, an active layer of zinc
oxide (ZnO) with a thickness of 10 nm, and spherical Au NPs
(diameter: 12 nm) overlaid over the active layer.
For the purpose of examining the characteristics of the
combined film, the thin layers of HfO2 and Al2 O3 are first
deposited separately between the SiO2 and active layer. The
FDTD technique, which can be employed with the tiny pulse
in time over a broad spectral range, is used to simulate the
design. In order to achieve the relevant absorption, reflection,
and transmission results in the visible spectral range, the
Maxwell equations are solved for an electromagnetic module
while taking the interaction between light and matter into
consideration. The photocurrent with respect to bias voltage
MUTHU et al.: SIMULATION AND ANALYSIS OF PLASMONIC PD BASED ON Au NPs AND HfO2 INTERLAYER 28771

and wavelength is derived using electrical simulation after

the photogenerated carriers from the FDTD are exported. The
maximum power absorption in the visible spectral range is
obtained by optimizing the position of Au NPs on ZnO layer
considering their radius, spacing, and period.
In Fig. 1, we present a simulated PD model with a 23 ×
23 array of Au NPs arranged over the ZnO has 32.9-nm
spacing between the Au NPs. SiO2 substrate and thin films
are meshed at 8 nm, while Au NPs are meshed at 10 nm,
both overriding in the z-direction. In order to obtain better
absorption with little to no radiated power reflection, the
anti-symmetric and symmetric boundaries are employed in the
x- and y-directions and phase matching layer (PML) along the
z-direction. The plane wave of periodic wave type is applied
in the visible spectral region. The discrete fourier transform
(DFT) monitor records the electric field in x-, y-, and z-
directions, and the corresponding absorption, transmission,
and reflection are calculated. The discretization of equations,
variables, models, and continuous functions into discrete
Fig. 2. Spectral variation of absorption for SiO2 –Au (NPs) structure with
counterpart is done in the Yee cell. The partial differential four surrounding media of different ns values (1, 1.10, 1.21, and 1.33).
Maxwell’s equations are discretized in space and time domain,
and the resulting finite difference equation is solved in the TABLE I
leapfrog manner, i.e., electric and magnetic field vectors are C ALCULATED VALUES OF η AND ρ FOR S I O 2 –AU NP S TRUCTURE
solved in the space in a given instant of time one by one until A LONG W ITH OTHER PARAMETERS O BTAINED F ROM
the desired transient electromagnetic field is encountered. SiO2 S IMULATION R ESULTS
substrate containing Au NPs doped on top of it is considered
as the reference structure for this simulation model and thin
film coatings are put on it to increase the efficiency [22]. The
refractive index (RI) values of the concerned layers are adapted
from previously published works [23].
In the next sections, we study the different variants of the
proposed PD design to closely analyze the PD’s performance
seeking the best-possible combination providing the high
values of all concerned performance parameters.

III. R ESULTS AND D ISCUSSION
A. Effect of RI of Surrounding Medium
In a plasmonic structure, the RI of surrounding medium (n s )
plays an important role in terms of the value of SP propagation
constant or SP wave vector. So, the amount of incident light
absorption also depends on the value of n s , and therefore, it is
important to estimate the influence of n s on PD application.
In this context, Fig. 2 presents the simulated spectral vari-
ation of absorption for SiO2 –Au (NPs) structure with four
different values of n s , i.e., 1 (air), 1.10 (low density gas),
1.21 (high density gas), and 1.33 (aqueous medium). It can
be observed from the above simulated absorption spectra that
not only the peak absorption magnitude (A) increases but also
there is a red-shift in the peak absorption wavelength (λ0 )
with an increase in n s . Numerically, the magnitudes of A are:
0.1360 a.u. for n s = 1 (at λ0 = 536.50 nm), 0.1687 a.u.
for n s = 1.1 (at λ0 = 548.50 nm), 0.2203 a.u. for n s =
1.21 (at λ0 = 561.17 nm), and 0.2889 a.u. for n s = 1.33 (at
λ0 = 576.00 nm). The simulation results also show that the
corresponding reflectivity (R) values are 0.0792 for n s = 1 (at
λ0 = 536.50 nm), 0.0767 for n s = 1.1 (at λ0 = 548.50 nm),
0.0653 for n s = 1.21 (at λ0 = 561.17 nm), and 0.0547 for
n s = 1.33 (at λ0 = 576.00 nm). Clearly, there is considerable
increase in the magnitude of A, while the magnitude of R
decreases with an increase in n s . As far as the performance
of a PD is concerned, it is primarily estimated in terms of
quantum efficiency (η) and responsivity (ρ), which are defined
as
η = (1 − R) 1 − e−A


(1)
λ0
ρ= η (2)
1.24
in (1), “R” is the reflectivity of the structure’s surface on which
the light is incident. Obtained from Fig. 2, the peak absorption
“A” has been considered for the calculation of η. Notably,
“A” can be alternatively obtained as a product of absorption
coefficient and width of the structure’s surface. For (1), it has
been assumed that all absorbed photons can be used in an
appropriate circuit to produce the corresponding photocurrent
(to be discussed in further sections). In (2), λ0 is in micrometer.
Finally, the calculated values of η and ρ are listed in Table I,
which also contains the corresponding values of “A,” “R,” and
λ0 obtained from the simulation results.
From the above results, it is clear that employing the
surrounding medium of higher RI leads to enhanced pho-
todetection performance in terms of greater magnitudes of

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28772
Fig. 3. Spectral variation of absorption for SiO2 –Al2 O3 –Au (NP)
structure with ns = 1.33. The above simulation has been carried out
for four different thicknesses (1, 5, 10, and 15 nm) of Al2 O3 layer.
both η and ρ owing to: 1) increase in A; 2) decrease in R;
and 3) red-shift of λ0 . It may be noted that the presence
of aqueous medium (n s = 1.33) may affect the stability
of the PD design. However, the presence of Au NPs is a
crucial factor in view of its strong chemical stability against
oxidation (e.g., humidity) as well as any moderate thermal
variations. Importantly, this red-shift of λ0 with increasing n s
will be further crucial in tuning the operating wavelength of
the PD. In the next couple of sections, we make an attempt to
seek further enhancement in photodetection performance by
employing interlayer materials, such as Al2 O3 and HfO2 .
B. Influence of Thin Al2 O3 Layer on
Photodetection Performance
Another possible variant of the PD design is when a thin
Al2 O3 layer is sandwiched between SiO2 and Au NPs layer.
Fig. 3 presents the spectral variation of absorption for the
above PD design variant considering four different thicknesses
(1, 5, 10, and 15 nm) of Al2 O3 layer.
For the simulation of these absorption spectra, we have
considered the value of n s to be 1.33. It is visible from
the above figure that all four absorption spectra are very
close to each other. However, a deeper analysis reveals that
the highest value of A is achieved for 1 nm thickness of
Al2 O3 layer, and as we increase the Al2 O3 layer thickness,
the magnitude of A gradually decreases while λ0 undergoes
a marginal red-shift. Furthermore, compared to SiO2 –Au NP
structure, an introduction of 1-nm-thick Al2 O3 layer leads
to an increase in A corresponding to n s value of 1.33.
Numerically, the magnitude of A increases from 0.289 a.u.
(for SiO2 –Au NPs structure) to 0.316 a.u. (for SiO2 –1-nm
Al2 O3 –Au NPs structure), which corresponds to more than
9% increase in A. Furthermore, the value of λ0 also changes
from 576 nm (for SiO2 –Au NPs structure) to 583.70 nm (for
SiO2 –1-nm Al2 O3 –Au NPs structure), which corresponds to
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IEEE SENSORS JOURNAL, VOL. 23, NO. 23, 1 DECEMBER 2023
Fig. 4. Spectral variation of absorption for SiO2 –HfO2 –Au (NP) struc-
ture with ns = 1.33. The above simulation has been carried out for four
different thicknesses (1, 5, 10, and 15 nm) of HfO2 layer.
7.70-nm red-shift in λ0 . Moreover, the value of R at λ0 =
583.70 nm is as low as 0.0685. Both these results are bound
to bring a significant effect on η and ρ. The calculations
reveal that for SiO2 –Al2 O3 (1 nm)–Au NPs structure, η
is 0.481, while ρ is 0.226 A/W. These values are reason-
ably better than those achieved for SiO2 –Au NPs structure
(i.e., η = 0.459 and ρ = 0.213 A/W), as mentioned in
Section III-A. Our calculations further disclose that both η and
ρ decrease with increasing Al2 O3 layer thickness (varied up to
15 nm). It is also worth mentioning that due to longer λ0 with
1-nm Al2 O3 layer, there is a reduction in light scattering factor
(3), which is proportional to 1/λ04 of incident light signal. The
abovementioned shift of 7.70 nm in λ0 corresponds to about
5.5% reduction (compared to SiO2 –Au NPs structure) in 3.
In summary, a thickness of about 1–2 nm of Al2 O3 layer may
be preferred for enhanced photodetection performance.
C. Influence of Thin HfO2 Layer on
Photodetection Performance
In this variant of the PD design, Al2 O3 layer is replaced with
thin HfO2 layer. HfO2 possesses good electronic and physical
properties compared to Al2 O3 in terms of high dielectric con-
stant, low crystallization temperature, chemical and thermal
stability, wide bandgap, and transmissivity [24]. In addition,
the favorable RI of HfO2 in the visible spectral range is
expected to further assist in the PD performance enhancement.
Fig. 4 presents the spectral variation of absorption for four
different thicknesses (1, 5, 10, and 15 nm) of HfO2 layer.
It is visible from Fig. 4 that the highest value of A is
achieved for 1 nm thickness of HfO2 layer, and as we
increase the HfO2 layer thickness, the magnitude of A grad-
ually decreases while λ0 undergoes a red-shift. Compared to
SiO2 –Au NPs structure, an introduction of 1-nm-thick HfO2
layer leads to an increase in magnitude of A. Numerically,
MUTHU et al.: SIMULATION AND ANALYSIS OF PLASMONIC PD BASED ON Au NPs AND HfO2 INTERLAYER
TABLE II
C ALCULATED VALUES OF η AND ρ OF S I O 2 –H F O 2 –AU NP
S TRUCTURE A LONG W ITH OTHER PARAMETERS O BTAINED F ROM
S IMULATION R ESULTS (S URROUNDING M EDIUM RI I S 1.33)
the magnitude of A increases from 0.289 a.u. for SiO2 –Au
NPs structure to 0.342 a.u. for SiO2 –HfO2 (1 nm)–Au NPs
structure, which corresponds to more than 18% increase in A.
Furthermore, λ0 also changes from 576 nm for SiO2 –Au
NPs structure to 594.67 nm for SiO2 –HfO2 (1 nm)–Au NPs
structure, which corresponds to 18.67 nm red-shift in λ0 . This
red-shift due to HfO2 layer may be attributed to variation in
radiation damping phenomenon (i.e., destructive interference
of incident light with the reflected light component), which
depends on both light wavelength and the thickness of the
plasmonic structure components. It brings us to estimate how
the above results affect the magnitudes of η and ρ. The
calculated values of η and ρ (along with “A,” “R,” and λ0 )
are listed in Table II.
From Table II, it is clear that 1 nm thickness of HfO2
layer leads to increased values of both η and ρ compared to
SiO2 –Au NP structure. Numerically, the value of η increases
from 0.459 for SiO2 –Au NPs structure to 0.498 for SiO2 –HfO2
(1 nm)–Au NPs structure, which corresponds to more than
8% increase in η. Similarly, the value of ρ increases from
0.213 A/W for SiO2 –Au NP structure to 0.239 A/W for SiO2 –
HfO2 (1 nm)–Au NPs structure, which corresponds to about
12.2% increase in ρ. Moreover, it is also worth mentioning that
λ0 also gets longer leading to reduction in 3. Numerically,
λ0 increases from 576 nm for SiO2 –Au NPs structure to
594.67 nm for SiO2 –HfO2 (1 nm)–Au NPs structure, which
corresponds to 13.6% reduction in 3. This significant reduc-
tion in 3 further improves the practical functioning of PD as
most of the incident light will be contributing in the generation
of photocurrent rather than getting wasted out in the form of
scattering losses. Furthermore, it is also important to note that
increasing HfO2 layer thickness causes a marginal decrease
in photodetection performance parameters; therefore, only a
small thickness of about 1–2 nm of HfO2 layer should be
preferred.
D. Comparative Scenario
Along with the findings of Sections III-A–III-C, we have
also studied another variant that incorporates the thin layers
of both HfO2 and Al2 O3 into the PD design. Simula-
tion results corresponding to this SiO2 –HfO2 (1 nm)–Al2 O3
(1 nm)–Au NPs structure reveal that the magnitude of A
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28773
TABLE III
C OMPARATIVE S CENARIO OF F OUR VARIANTS OF THE P LASMONIC PD
S TRUCTURE . T HE S URROUNDING M EDIUM RI I S 1.33
for this combination is 0.312 a.u. at λ0 = 584.10 nm. The
corresponding magnitude of R is found to be 0.0674. Using
the above values of A and R, the calculated magnitudes of η
and ρ are 0.478 and 0.225 mA/W, respectively. These values of
η and ρ are smaller than those achieved for PD design variants
with individual 1-nm-thick layers of HfO2 and Al2 O3 . For a
clear comparison, Table III enlists the values of “A,” “λ0 ,”
“R,” η, ρ, and 3 for all four variants of the proposed PD
structure.
Table III clearly indicates that among all four variants, the
SiO2 –HfO2 (1 nm)–Au NPs structure (highlighted) is able
to provide the largest magnitudes of η and ρ along with
the minimum value of 3. For a quick comparison, we have
included the values of A and λ0 for a typical plasmon FET
transistor [22]. It can be seen that not only the preferred
PD design (highlighted) shows higher absorption but also
significantly smaller light scattering.
E. Strategy for Practical Implementation of the PD
Design and Comparison With the State of the Art
With these results, we now move to discuss the possible
practical implementation of the PD design and carry out even
more detailed analysis of the PD’s performance in terms of
crucial parameters, such as dark current (Idark ) and detectivity
(D). Notably, D (measured in Jones) is defined as [25]
√
ρ S
D=√ (3)
2eIdark
where ρ is the responsivity, S is the effective area under
illumination, and e is the electron charge. In order to envisage
the practical implementation of the PD design, a couple of
additions (electrodes and a conducting layer, e.g., ZnO, ITO,
etc.) need to be incorporated. Fig. 5 shows a prospective prac-
tically implementable PD design with Au electrodes (anode
and cathode) positioned on top of the active layer for biasing.
The intrinsic ZnO layer in the middle and a doping con-
centration of about 1020 cm−3 for the p- and n-type is
28774 IEEE SENSORS JOURNAL, VOL. 23, NO. 23, 1 DECEMBER 2023

TABLE IV
C OMPARATIVE S CENARIO OF P ROPOSED W ORK W ITH
E XISTING PD D ESIGNS

Fig. 5. Electrical simulation setup of the PD with (a) top view, (b) cross-
sectional view, (c) perspective view, and (d) inset of cross section view
with electrode and Au NPs.

considered around the corners corresponding to p-i-n PD. For

the materials employed in the simulation work, the semicon-
ducting characteristics including electronic (work function,
bandgap, dc permittivity, and effective mass) and recombi-
nation (trap-assisted, radiative, auger, impact ionization, and
band-to-band tunneling) properties have been incorporated.
Thermal attributes include density, specific heat, and thermal
conductivity, whereas dielectric permittivity is offered as an
insulator property. In order to calculate Idark of the PD design,
the reverse bias condition is applied to the electrodes by
disabling the photogenerated carriers. The magnitude of Idark is
estimated using the electrical setup with proper voltage biasing
and in dark environment (without illumination). Generally,
the optically generated charge carrier profile is exported from
optical to electrical domain to calculate the overall photocur-
rent. Here, the generated data are disabled while obtaining
the V –I characteristics. The minimal current obtained in the
zero voltage provides the maximal Idark of the PD model.
The Lumerical CHARGE simulation performs the steady-state
dc analysis, and the concerned simulated Idark corresponding
to SiO2 –HfO2 (1 nm)–ZnO (10 nm)–Au NP (6 nm radius)
structure is depicted in Fig. 6. It can be observed that the
value of Idark (at 0 V) is nearly 3.6 × 10−16 A. For achiev-
ing even better precision, ρ is determined by graphing the
V –I characteristics after the optically produced data are added
to the model. The distribution of the electric field, charge
carriers, and energy band for above structure is found by
solving the Poisson and carrier transport equations. Both
numerical simulation and analytical computation are employed
to compute the values of η, ρ, and D. The value of S has been
considered as 0.5 µm2 . The simulation results reveal that for Fig. 6. Dark current plot of the PD put under a voltage sweep from
the SiO2 –HfO2 (1 nm)–ZnO (10 nm)–Au NPs (6 nm radius) −1.5 to 1.5 V.
structure (surrounded by a medium of n s = 1.33) and with
Idark = 3.6 × 10−16 A, the values of A, λ0 , η, ρ, 3, and D and ρ) compared to many of the plasmonics-based PD
D come out to be 0.312 a.u., 587.96 nm, 0.476, 0.225 A/W, designs recently reported (2020–2023) in the state of the art.
8.367 µm−4 , and 1.48 × 1012 Jones, respectively. From a possible fabrication viewpoint, the proposed PD
In Table IV, we have compared the performance of our design may involve an oxidation process to prepare SiO2
practically implementable PD design with the plasmonic PD substrate typically with 1 µm width, 1 µm length, and 500 nm
designs available in the current state of the art. thickness. Furthermore, the RF magnetron sputtering may be
Table IV clearly indicates that the proposed PD design used for the formation of ZnO layer (10 nm), while atomic
has the capability to provide superior values of performance layer deposition may be used for HfO2 layer (1 nm). The
parameters (i.e., small Idark and 3 with large values of self-assembly method may be used to synthesize the Au NPs

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MUTHU et al.: SIMULATION AND ANALYSIS OF PLASMONIC PD BASED ON Au NPs AND HfO2 INTERLAYER
by baking the thin Au film at 300 ◦ C temperature. The thermal
reflow method may be chosen for shaping the semi-spherical
NPs.
IV. C ONCLUSION AND F UTURE S COPE
We have simulated and analyzed the design of a
high-performance PD with Au NPs and HfO2 /Al2 O3 interlayer
leading to plasmonic enhancement of light absorption in
visible spectral region. SiO2 is considered as the substrate
for this PD design (see Fig. 1). The FDTD simulation results
indicate that a surrounding medium with higher RI (n s ), e.g.,
an aqueous medium (n s = 1.33), leads to greater absorption
owing to plasmonic enhancement (see Fig. 2). Furthermore,
using a thin HfO2 layer (1–2 nm) further increases the optical
absorption (see Fig. 4) leading to higher values of quantum
efficiency (η) and responsivity (ρ). It is observed that using
a thin Al2 O3 layer (1–2 nm) may help in increasing the light
absorption. However, the HfO2 -based design shows reason-
ably superior PD performance compared to Al2 O3 -based and
“HfO2 + Al2 O3 ”-based designs (see Table III). In addition,
this HfO2 layer causes the operating wavelength (λ0 , which
corresponds to maximum absorption) to undergo a significant
red-shift leading to decrease in the scattering of incident
light signal. More specifically, the HfO2 -based PD design
operating at 594.67 nm provides the values of η and ρ as
high as 0.498 and 0.239 A/W, respectively, with 3 as small
as 7.99 µm−4 (as shown in Table III).
We have further analyzed the possible practical implementa-
tion of the HfO2 -assisted PD design while simulating it with
Au electrodes and 10-nm-thick ZnO (conducting) layer (see
Fig. 5). This analysis included an evaluation of the concerned
Idark (see Fig. 6) followed by the calculation of detectivity
of the PD design. A collective analysis of the SiO2 –HfO2
(1 nm)–ZnO (10 nm)–Au NPs (6 nm radius) structure (with
n s = 1.33) achieved the values of A, λ0 , η, ρ, 3, Idark , and
D as 0.312 a.u., 587.96 nm, 0.476, 0.225 A/W, 8.367 µm−4 ,
3.6 × 10−16 A, and 1.48 × 1012 Jones, respectively. We have
also compared the above performance parameters with some
recently reported plasmonic PD designs (see Table IV). The
comparison indicates that proposed PD design has the ability
to provide better values of performance parameters (i.e., small
Idark and 3 along with large values of D and ρ) compared to
numerous plasmonics-based PD designs.
The fiber optic sensor systems, image sensors, and high
conversion-efficiency solar cells are a few examples, where
the above PD design could find vital applications in the
visible spectral range especially when high sensitivity and
responsivity are required.
Talking about the limitations during the possible fabrication
of the proposed design, one needs to take utmost care while
preparing the assembly of Au NPs with desired spacing and
radius. It is a general issue that the thermal reflow method used
to create the NPs may produce hemispheres that pose chal-
lenges in achieving narrow plasmonic absorption spectrum.
Another limitation is that the performance of this PD design
crucially depends on photon to electron conversion efficiency,
which, in general, is significantly smaller than 100%.
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The responsivity of the proposed design can be improved by
adapting the adequate 2-D materials [2]; 2-D materials-based
PD design may be used in the wide spectral range
(e.g., 1–10 µm). Thus, the future work concentrates more on
achieving the responsivity with quick response time in the
visible spectral region [2].
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IEEE SENSORS JOURNAL, VOL. 23, NO. 23, 1 DECEMBER 2023
Bharathi Raj Muthu received the B.E. degree
from the Department of Electronics and Com-
munication Engineering (ECE), Anna University,
Chennai, India, in 2013, the M.E. degree in
very large scale integration (VLSI) design from
Anna University, in 2015, and the Ph.D. degree
from the College of Engineering Guindy, Anna
University, in 2023.
His research interests include semiconductor
device modeling and silicon photonics.
Dhandapani Vaithiyanathan (Member, IEEE) is
currently working as an Assistant Professor with
the Department of Electronics and Communi-
cation Engineering (ECE), National Institute of
Technology (NIT) Delhi, India. He has published
66 journal articles, 81 conference papers, edited
one book, and published 12 book chapters.
His research interests include low-power circuit
design, memory design, embedded system, and
very large scale integration (VLSI) architecture
for digital signal and image processing.
Anuj K. Sharma is currently an Associate Pro-
fessor of Physics with the National Institute of
Technology (NIT) Delhi, Delhi, India. He has
published more than 110 research articles in
reputed international journals and five book
chapters. His research interests include opti-
cal sensors and photodetectors, plasmonics in
thin films and grating structures, fiber optics,
nanophotonics, and optical device modeling.
He was a recipient of Alexander von Humboldt
Research Fellowship. He is the Associate Editor
of IEEE SENSORS JOURNAL, Optical Fiber Technology (Elsevier), and
Frontiers in Electronic Materials.