Research progress and challenges of low-dimensional tellurium-based photodetectors

Abstract Tellurium (Te), a typical p-type elemental semiconductor, exhibits exceptional properties including environmental stability, high carrier mobility, and superior optical responsiveness, demonstrating significant application potential in next-generation optoelectronic devices. This review provides a systematic overview of the crystal structures and optoelectronic properties of Te, along with the research progress in the field of Te-based photodetectors. Firstly, the crystal structures and band characteristics of Te are elucidated, with its optical and electrical properties analyzed in depth to lay a theoretical foundation for subsequent research. On this basis, the photoelectric performance and operating mechanisms of photodetectors based on individual Te nanomaterials are explored, encompassing one-dimensional Te nanowires, nanoribbons, nanocoils, and two-dimensional Te nanosheets and nanofilms. Furthermore, the structural designs and application potential of Te nanomaterial heterostructure photodetectors based on different band alignment types are elaborated in detail. Finally, the current bottlenecks encountered by Te-based materials in the field of photoelectric detection are synthesized, and perspectives on future research directions within this field are delineated. We believe that that frontier explorations of Te-based materials will yield significant breakthroughs, and such research will offer highly valuable industrial references for the commercialization of nanodevices.