Enhanced sensitivity of silicon-based Schottky detectors for detecting human-body temperature
Journal
Proceedings of SPIE - The International Society for Optical Engineering
Journal Volume
13902
Start Page
28
ISBN (of the container)
978-151069721-8
Date Issued
2026-03-04
Author(s)
Editor(s)
Reed, Graham T.
Bradley, Jonathan
Abstract
Mid-infrared detection technology has critical applications in autonomous vehicles, thermal imaging, body temperature measurement, and military areas. Currently, most optical detectors rely on III-V compound semiconductors. Despite their high performance, the manufacturing process is complex and costly; furthermore, they are difficult to integrate with silicon-based integrated circuits. In this study, we fabricated a silicon-based detector with a lateral size of 0.3 cm, incorporating a periodic inverted pyramid structure (IPS) to induce strong surface plasmon resonance, which significantly enhances the detection of blackbody radiation within the human body temperature range. Two types of metal-semiconductor junctions were investigated: Ag/n-Type and Cu/p-Type. For the Ag/n-Type device, a temperature resolution of 0.5 °C was achieved. At 35 °C and under a reverse bias of 0.3 V, the response current slope reached 0.00203 μA/s, increasing linearly in steps of 0.2 °C, and reaching 0.0049 μA/s at 42 °C. In contrast, the Cu/p-Type device demonstrated a higher sensitivity with a resolution of 0.2 °C. At 35 °C, the response current slope was 0.771 μA/s, increasing linearly with a 0.2 °C step size to 4.725 μA/s at 42 °C. This research demonstrates the potential of silicon-based detectors, enhanced by plasmonic structures, for precise and cost-effective human body temperature monitoring, highlighting their value for practical applications in healthcare and sensing technologies.
Event(s)
21st Silicon Photonics
Subjects
Barrier height
Body temperature detection
Metal-semiconductor
Schottky photodiode
Silicon base photodetector
Silicon photonic
Publisher
SPIE
Type
conference paper