Tunable Drift–Diffusion Synergy in Suspended Te Nanowires for Multistate Photodetection

Tuning the interplay between photoconductive (drift-driven) transport and photothermoelectric (diffusion-driven) transport in a single device remains crucial for next-generation optoelectronics and in-sensor computing. Here, we present a suspended tellurium nanowire (Te NW) photodetector that concurrently harnesses and actively balances these two transports using asymmetric (local) or symmetric (flood) illumination in tandem with a bias voltage. This enables on-demand transitions from diffusion-dominated to drift-dominated photoresponses at room temperature, a feat not realized in prior Te-based detectors. Under zero bias with local illumination, robust photothermoelectric diffusion yields positive or negative photocurrents, with a responsivity Ri of 124.28 A/W and specific detectivity (D*) of 7.80 × 1011 Jones. Conversely, flood illumination under finite bias triggers photoconductive drift, with a peak responsivity Ri of 65.03-68.79 A/W and D* of 7.99 × 1010-8.47 × 1010 Jones. By programming the illumination and bias conditions, we realize positive, negative, or zero photocurrent states, forming a three-mode response platform. Remarkably, the device exhibits a sub-100 μs response time and retains stable detection under ambient conditions, illustrating its viability for real-world applications. This work establishes a versatile blueprint for broadband, multistate photodetection toward in-sensor computing tasks.