Single-Photon Detection by a Simple Silicon-on-Insulator Metal–Oxide–Semiconductor Field-Effect Transistor

We demonstrate that a simple silicon-on-insulator (SOI) metal–oxide–semiconductor field-effect transistor (MOSFET) which can be found in ordinary integrated circuits could operate as a single-photon detector at room temperature. A potential well created by n + p - n + junctions is used to trap photo-generated holes, which is detected as increased electron current in the bottom channel with a single-hole sensitivity. Although peaks in histograms of drain current are overlapped due to relatively small sensitivity to the holes, signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) is large enough to determine the position and height of each peak corresponding to the discrete number of trapped holes. In addition to this single-photon detection capability, the simple MOSFET structure could also benefit from the potentially high quantum efficiency (QE) since it includes fewer absorbing electrodes to the incident light.