  Among its many uses, graphene shows significant promise for optical and
optoelectronic applications. In particular, devices based on the
photothermoelectric effect (PTE) in graphene can offer a strong and fast
photoresponse with high signal-to-noise ratio while consuming minimal power. In
this work we discuss how to optimize the performance of graphene PTE
photodetectors by tuning the light confinement, device geometry, and material
quality. This study should prove useful for the design of devices using the PTE
in graphene, with applications including optical sensing, data communications,
multi-gas sensing, and others.
