High-entropy layered double hydroxides enabled wide-bandwidth near-infrared photodetection with viable environmental resistance

Abstract

Emerging high environmental resistance of near-infrared (NIR) photodetectors requires the merits of mechanical and thermal robustness with a wide operation bandwidth. Here, FeCoNiCuZnAl-based high-entropy layered double hydroxides (LDHs), directly deposited on a Si nanowire/Si substrate via a solution synthesis process, are presented, which illustrates an outperforming NIR detectivity of 2.73 × 1011 Jones, and a rise/fall response time of 11/34 µs under 940-nm light illumination, with an adaptive frequency bandwidth of up to 3 × 104 Hz and a suppressed flicker noise of 3.1 × 10⁻¹³ A Hz^−1/2. The remarkable mechanical, chemical and thermal resistances of such designs were further validated, originating from the effects of entropy-driven stabilization that mitigated site-specific perturbations and maintained the structural integrity of LDH frameworks. The results merited the top-performing designs, which dictated the technological implementation of NIR photodetectors.