Abstract
The rapid expansion of self-powered electronics in the Internet of Things, 6G communication and millimetre-wave systems calls for rectifiers capable of operating across ultrabroadband frequencies and at extremely low input power levels. However, conventional rectifiers based on semiconductor junctions face fundamental limitations such as parasitic capacitance and threshold voltages, preventing effective operation under broadband and ambient radio-frequency conditions. Here we present an ultrabroadband, zero-bias rectifier based on the nonlinear Hall effect in wafer-scale (001)-oriented topological crystalline insulator SnTe thin film. This material exhibits a large second-order conductivity of ~0.004 Ω⁻1 V⁻1, surpassing that of other wafer-scale materials. The nonlinear Hall effect arises primarily from a Berry curvature dipole, evidenced by angular-resolved transport measurements and first-principles calculations. The device demonstrates rectification from 23 MHz to 1 THz, with sensitivity down to –60 dBm in key radio-frequency bands, without any external bias. Rectified output power is scalable through series- and parallel-array topologies and can be enhanced using rectenna designs. As a proof of concept, we achieve the wireless powering of a thermistor using harvested radio-frequency energy, validating the potential of this material platform and nonlinear Hall effect for next-generation energy-autonomous microsystems.
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Data availability
The data that support the findings of this study are available within the article and its Supplementary Information. Other relevant data are available from the corresponding authors upon reasonable request.
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Acknowledgements
This research was supported by the National Research Foundation (NRF) Singapore Investigatorship (NRFI06-2020-0015) (H.Y.), A*STAR under its Quantum Engineering Programme (NRF2022-QEP2-03-P13) (H.Y.), National Key Research and Development Program of China (2022YFB3505301) (X.X.), National Natural Science Foundation of China (52471253 and 12174237) (F.W. and X.X.), Central Government’s Special Fund for Local Science and Technology Development (YDZJSX2024D058) (F.W.) and Fund Program for the Scientific Activities of Selected Returned Overseas Professionals in Shanxi Province (20240019) (F.W.). R.S. acknowledges the Anusandhan National Research Foundation (ANRF) for the Prime Minister’s Early Career Research Grant (ANRF/ECRG/2024/006343/ENS).
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H.Y. and F.W. conceived of and designed the experiments. F.H. fabricated the rectification devices and carried out the rectification measurements. S.Z. prepared the setups for rectification measurements. J. Lei and F.H. performed the equation derivation for rectified power and thermistor measurements. F.H. and S.Z. analysed the rectification data. P.Z. and Z.Y. grew the samples and carried out the X-ray diffraction measurements. L.Y. and J. Lai fabricated the transport devices and performed the transport measurements. F.W. and F.H. analysed the transport data. W.L. performed the theoretical calculations under the supervision of S.A.Y. H.P. conducted the second-harmonic measurements. C.W. performed the Raman measurements under the supervision of G.E. R.S. helped in the interpretation and figure preparation of the rectification data. F.H., F.W., R.S. and H.Y. wrote the paper with contributions from all authors. H.Y. supervised the project. All authors discussed the results and commented on the paper.
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Hu, F., Zhao, P., Yang, L. et al. Ultrabroadband nonlinear Hall rectifier using SnTe. Nat. Nanotechnol. (2025). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41565-025-01993-2
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41565-025-01993-2
