Scientists create an ultra-fast graphene-based optical detector

An international team of scientists from Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf (HZDR), the University of Maryland and more, have developed a graphene-based optical detector which reacts very rapidly to incident light of all different wavelengths and works at room temperature. It is reportedly the first time that a single detector has been able to monitor the spectral range from visible light to infrared radiation and right through to terahertz radiation.

The graphene detector is made of graphene on silicon carbide, along with a unique antenna. It is regarded as a comparatively simple and inexpensive construct that can cover the huge spectral range from visible light all the way to terahertz radiation, as graphene can pick up light with a very large range of photon energies and convert it into electric signals (unlike semiconductors like silicon or gallium arsenide). The broadband antenna and the right substrate were enough to supplement graphene and create the ideal conditions for this unique detector, that can be used for the exact synchronization of laser systems.