Room-temperature terahertz photodetectors based on black arsenic-phosphorus

Terahertz technology is indispensable in plenty of fields due to the abundant interactions between terahertz waves and matter. In order to meet the needs of terahertz applications, the development of highly sensitive and portable terahertz detectors based on distinctive physical mechanisms and various materials with excellent properties are urgently required. Black arsenic-phosphorus is a novel two-dimensional material that has a tunable band gap and transport characteristics with varying chemical composition, which has gained widespread interest in optoelectronic applications. Recent research on b-As_xP_1-x mainly focuses on infrared detection, while the detection of terahertz has not yet been applied. Herein, an antenna-coupled terahertz detector based on exfoliated multilayer black arsenic-phosphorus is demonstrated. The terahertz response performance of the detector reflects two different mechanisms, which have a competitive relationship in the detection process. In particular, the detection mechanism can be tailored by varying the chemical composition of black arsenic-phosphorus. By balancing the band gap and carrier mobility, a responsivity of over 28.23 V/W and a noise equivalent power of less than 0.53 nW/Hz^1/2 are obtained at 0.37 THz. This implies that black arsenic-phosphorus has great potential in terahertz technology.