Optical and electrical anisotropy regulation engineering of low-dimensional materials toward polarized detection and imaging applications

Polarized-sensitive image sensors are a kind of photodetector with great development potential due to their enhanced ability to detect and identify the target objects from the aspect of spatial, spectral and polarized information. Recently, low-dimensional anisotropic materials with inherent anisotropic properties, ultrathin thickness, tunable bandgap and feasible integration with complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS) fabrication processes have attracted great interest for their facilitation of polarized photodetector devices miniaturization. Maximizing the polarized detection performance of low-dimensional materials to satisfy realistic needs stimulates the exploration of modulation of anisotropic properties. In this review, we comprehensively introduce the latest research progress in modulating the optical and optoelectronic anisotropy characteristics of low-dimensional materials. The strategy of anisotropy regulation through crystal structure engineering and coupling system is discussed emphatically. Then, the latest progress in image recognition applications using anisotropic low-dimensional materials is reviewed in detail. Finally, we summarize the challenge and propose future opportunities in the practical application of polarized-sensitive imaging photodetectors based on low-dimensional anisotropic materials.