Patent ID: 8227793

Claim:
A photodetector capable of detecting the visible light spectrum, comprising: a source disposed on a proximal end of an insulation layer; a drain disposed on a distal end of the insulation layer; at least one nano-assembly coupling the source and the drain between the proximal and distal ends; at least two surface plasmon waveguides positioned between the source and the drain and juxtaposed to the at least one nano-assembly in a longitudinal direction of the at least one nano-assembly to receive photons from incident light and to confine at least a portion of the photons around at least a portion of the nano-assembly; and a transparent gate positioned in proximity to the at least one nano-assembly and the at least two surface plasmon waveguides and further being arranged so as to extend substantially parallel to at least one of the source and the drain, wherein one of the at least two surface plasmon waveguides is positioned along a first side of the at least one nano-assembly, and another of the at least two surface plasmon waveguides is positioned along a second side of the at least one nano-assembly that is opposite the first side.