In integrated photonics, specific wavelengths such as 1,550 nm are preferred due to low-loss transmission and the availability of optical gain in this spectral region. For chip-based photodetectors, two-dimensional materials bear scientifically and technologically relevant properties such as electrostatic tunability and strong light–matter interactions. However, no efficient photodetector in the telecommunication C-band has been realized with two-dimensional transition metal dichalcogenide materials due to their large optical bandgaps. Here we demonstrate a MoTe₂-based photodetector featuring a strong photoresponse (responsivity 0.5 A W^–1) operating at 1,550 nm in silicon photonics enabled by strain engineering the two-dimensional material. Non-planarized waveguide structures show a bandgap modulation of 0.2 eV, resulting in a large photoresponse in an otherwise photoinactive medium when unstrained. Unlike graphene-based photodetectors that rely on a gapless band structure, this photodetector shows an approximately 100-fold reduction in dark current, enabling an efficient noise-equivalent power of 90 pW Hz^–0.5. Such a strain-engineered integrated photodetector provides new opportunities for integrated optoelectronic systems.

在集成光子学中，特定波长（例如1,550 nm）是优选的，这是因为低损耗传输和在此光谱区域中可获得光学增益。对于基于芯片的光电探测器，二维材料具有科学和技术上相关的特性，例如静电可调性和强烈的光-物质相互作用。但是，由于二维光学过渡金属二卤化钴材料具有较大的光学带隙，因此尚未实现电信C波段的高效光电探测器。在这里，我们演示了基于MoTe ₂的光电探测器，该探测器具有强大的光响应（响应度0.5 A W ^–1）通过对二维材料进行应变工程设计，在硅光子学中以1,550 nm的频率工作。非平面波导结构显示出0.2 eV的带隙调制，如果不应变，则会在其他光惰性介质中产生较大的光响应。与依赖无间隙带结构的基于石墨烯的光电检测器不同，该光电检测器显示出暗电流降低了约100倍，从而实现了90 pW Hz ^{– 0.5}的有效噪声等效功率。这种应变工程集成光电探测器为集成光电系统提供了新的机会。