2D Material-Enabled Nanomechanical Bolometer

Abstract

We here describe a novel type of long-wavelength radiation detector that measures illumination intensity at room temperature through mechanical transduction. Compared to semiconductor-based bolometers, our nanomechanical detector exhibits low measurement noise and is inherently transparent and flexible. The presented solid-state device is based on a 2D-material film that acts as radiation absorber and detector of mechanical strain at the substrate-absorber interface. Optimization of the 2D material properties and realization of a novel edge-on device geometry combines unprecedented detectivity of 3.34 × 10⁸ cm Hz^1/2 W^-1 with micrometer-scale spatial resolution. The observed combination of superior performance with the facile and scalable fabrication using only liquid processes shows the potential of the presented detector for future ubiquitous and wearable electronics.

Keywords: MoS2; bolometer; graphene; infrared detectors; thermal expansion.