Light confinement and absorption in metal-semiconductor-metal nanostructures

New concepts for efficient light absorption in nanoscale metal-semiconductor-metal photodetectors are analyzed from both theoretical and experimental point of view. They are based on sub-wavelength metallic gratings which allows light confinement in tiny volumes ( 2 cross-section GaAs wires, limited by fabrication technology. These results show promising features for highly efficient and ultrafast photodetectors.