A bioinspired metal–semiconductor–metal metasurface design: Selective near-infrared photoelectric response and tailored mid-infrared radiation

Abstract

Reducing noise and enhancing selective sensitivity represent pivotal yet challenging goals in photoelectric-sensing, particularly for infrared detection. Optical-resonant metasurfaces and metal gratings are widely adopted to boost selective light absorption of photodetectors; however, they create an intrinsic trade-off: enhanced absorption of the photosensitive layer inevitably induces excessive heat generation via the photothermal effect, leading to increased noise current. Herein, inspired by butterfly wings, we propose a bioinspired metal–semiconductor–metal metasurface design with optoelectronic-integration that concurrently achieves a selective near-infrared photoelectric response and tailored mid-infrared radiative cooling. Particle swarm optimization yields a structure with >90% absorption and radiation in the target near-infrared band and the mid-infrared atmospheric window, respectively. Overcoming the traditional limitation of metal–insulator–metal metasurfaces to optical resonance alone, this work integrated optical resonance, photoelectric conversion, and thermal management in a single architecture, resolving the intrinsic conflict between photoelectric response enhancement and heat noise increase and providing a novel design paradigm for high-sensitivity near-infrared photodetection.