Direct Visualization of Optical Polarization States Based on van der Waals Photodetector Front-End and Digital Read-Out Modules

Detection and readout of polarization states become crucial to optical research and industry given that polarization is an essential quality of light. However, conventional polarimeters require diverse optical components that increases the system complexity. Here, we propose a straightforward way to visualize the optical polarization states where a single optical element (i.e., Ta2NiSe5/MoSe2 van der Waals heterostructure photodetector) coupled front-end electronics is utilized for linearly polarized light detection and a STM32F03ZET6 microcontroller performs analog-to-digital conversion and digital readout. Specifically, the polarization-resolved Ta2NiSe5/MoSe2 photodetector exhibits not only a decent extinction ratio of similar to 8.4 but also high photoelectric performance with an ultralow dark current of similar to 30 pA, high responsivity of similar to 3.46 A/W, and large specific detectivity of similar to 1.14 x 10(11) Jones. These detector features secure efficient signal collection and processing in combination with our dedicated electronic circuits. As a result, the polarization angles of the incident light can be digitally displayed in real time, showing the realistic prospect of this simplified system for polarization state recognition.