Ultraviolet photodetection of flexible ZnO nanowire sheets in polydimethylsiloxane polymer

ZnO nanowires are normally exposed to an oxygen atmosphere to achieve high performance in UV photodetection. In this work we present results on a UV photodetector fabricated using a flexible ZnO nanowire sheet embedded in polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS), a gas-permeable polymer, showing reproducible UV photoresponse and enhanced photoconduction. PDMS coating results in a reduced response speed compared to that of a ZnO nanowire film in air. The rising speed is slightly reduced, while the decay time is prolonged by about a factor of four. We conclude that oxygen molecules diffusing in PDMS are responsible for the UV photoresponse

Highly Dense ZnO Nanowires Grown on Graphene Foam for Ultraviolet Photodetection

Growth of highly dense ZnO nanowires (ZnO NWs) is demonstrated on three-dimensional graphene foam (GF) using resistive thermal evaporation technique. Photoresponse of the as-grown hybrid structure of ZnO NWs on GF (ZnO NWs/GF) is evaluated for ultraviolet (UV) detection. Excellent photoresponse with fast response and recovery times of 9.5 and 38 s with external quantum efficiency of 2490.8% is demonstrated at low illumination power density of 1.3 mW/cm(2). In addition, due to excellent charge carrier transport, mobility of graphene reduces the recombination rate of photogenerated charge carriers, hence the lifetime of photogenerated free charge carriers enhances in the photodetectors.

Defect-assisted sub-bandgap avalanche photodetection in interleaved carrier-depletion silicon waveguide for telecom band

This paper demonstrates on chip sub bandgap detection of light at 1550 nm wavelength using the configuration of interleaved PN junctions along a silicon waveguide. The device operates under reverse bias in a nearly fully depleted mode, thus minimizing the free carrier plasma losses and significantly increases the detection volume at the same time. Furthermore, substantial enhancement in responsivity is observed by the transition from reverse bias to avalanche breakdown regime. The observed high responsivity of up to 7.2 mA/W at 3 V is attributed to defect assisted photogeneration, where the defects are related to the surface and the bulk of the waveguide. © 2014 AIP Publishing LLC.

InAs/GaSb superlattices for photodetection in short wavelength infrared range

The first report of a short wavelength infrared detector based on type II InAs/GaSb superlattices is presented. Very short period superlattices containing InAs (2ML)/GaSb (8ML) superlattices (SLs) were grown by molecular-beam epitaxy on GaSb substrates. The photoluminescence showed a cut-off wavelength at 2.1 mu m at 10 K and 2.6 mu m at 300 K. Room-temperature optical transmittance spectra shows obvious absorption in InAs (2ML)/GaSb (8ML) SL in the range of 450-680 meV, i.e. 1.8-2.7 mu m. The cut-off wavelength moved from 2.3 mu m to 2.6 mu m with temperature rising from 77 K to 300 K in photoresponse spectra. The blackbody response R-v exponentially decreased as a function of 1/T in two temperature sections (130-200 K and 230-300 K). The blackbody detectivity D-bb(center dot) was beyond 1 x 10(8) cmHz(1/2)/W at room temperature. (C) 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

ANALYSIS OF SURFACE-PLASMON POLARITON ENHANCEMENT IN PHOTODETECTION BY AL-GAAS SCHOTTKY DIODES

The surface plasmon polariton mediated photoresponse from Al-GaAs diodes is examined in a prism-air gap-diode configuration as a function of both the wavelength of the incident light and thickness of the Al electrode. The experimental data shows a pronounced dip in reflectance as a function of internal angle of incidence in the prism, due to the excitation of the surface plasmon polariton at the Al-air interface, and a corresponding peak in device photosignal. Careful modelling of reflectance and quantum efficiency data shows that the bulk of the signal is generated by light which is re-radiated from this surface mode into the semiconductor substrate where it is absorbed by the creation of electron-hole pairs in the depletion region. This holds for all the wavelengths used here (all are shorter than the GaAs absorption edge) and across the thickness range of the Al electrodes (20-50 nm). Quantum efficiencies in the range 0.5-22% and enhancement factors of typically 7.5 were recorded in this investigation.

Photodetection with gate-controlled lateral BJTs from standard CMOS technology

The silicon-based gate-controlled lateral bipolar junction transistor (BJT) is a controllable four-terminal photodetector with very high responsivity at low-light intensities. It is a hybrid device composed of a MOSFET, a lateral BJT, and a vertical BJT. Using sufficient gate bias to operate the MOS transistor in inversion mode, the photodetector allows for increasing the photocurrent gain by 106 at low light intensities when the base-emitter voltage is smaller than 0.4 V, and BJT is off. Two operation modes, with constant voltage bias between gate and emitter/source terminals and between gate and base/body terminals, allow for tuning the photoresponse from sublinear to slightly above linear, satisfying the application requirements for wide dynamic range, high-contrast, or linear imaging. MOSFETs from a standard 0.18-μm triple-well complementary-metal oxide semiconductor technology with a width to length ratio of 8 μm /2 μm and a total area of ∼ 500μm2 are used. When using this area, the responsivities are 16-20 kA/W. © 2001-2012 IEEE.

Optical properties of ZnMgO films grown by spray pyrolysis and their application to UV photodetection

This work presents a comprehensive optical characterization of Zn1−xMgxO thin films grown by spray pyrolysis (SP). Absorption measurements show the high potential of this technique to tune the bandgap from 3.30 to 4.11 eV by changing the Mg acetate content in the precursor solution, leading to a change of the Mg-content ranging from 0 up to 35%, as measured by transmission electron microscopy-energy dispersive x-ray spectroscopy. The optical emission of the films obtained by cathodoluminescence and photoluminescence spectroscopy shows a blue shift of the peak position from 3.26 to 3.89 eV with increasing Mg incorporation, with a clear excitonic contribution even at high Mg contents. The linewidth broadening of the absorption and emission spectra as well as the magnitude of the observed Stokes shift are found to significantly increase with the Mg content. This is shown to be related to both potential fluctuations induced by pure statistical alloy disorder and the presence of a tail of band states, the latter dominating for medium Mg contents. Finally, metal–semiconductor–metal photodiodes were fabricated showing a high sensitivity and a blue shift in the cut-off energy from 3.32 to 4.02 eV, i.e., down to 308 nm. The photodiodes present large UV/dark contrast ratios (102 − 107), indicating the viability of SP as a growth technique to fabricate low cost (Zn, Mg)O-based UV photodetectors reaching short wavelengths.

Near infrared detectors based on HgSe and HgCdSe quantum dots generated at the liquid-liquid interface

HgSe and Hg0.5Cd0.5Se quantum dos (QDs) are synthesized at room temperature by a novel liquid-liquid interface method and their photodetection properties in the near-IR region are investigated. The photodetection properties of our Te-free systems are found to be comparable to those of the previously reported high performance QD vis-IR detectors including HgTe. The present synthesis indicates the cost-effectiveness of selenium based IR detectors owing to the abundance and lower toxicity of selenium compared to tellurium.

Facile synthesis of Cu2CoSnS4 nanoparticles exhibiting red-edge-effect: Application in hybrid photonic devices

Cu2CoSnS4 (CCTS) quaternary semiconducting nanoparticles with size distribution from 20 nm to 60 nm were synthesized by one-pot low temperature time and surfactant dependent hydrothermal route. Nanoparticles were characterized structurally and optically. Excitation dependent fluorescence exhibited a dynamic stoke shift referring to the Red-Edge-Effect with peak shifting by a greater magnitude (>100 nm) towards red side, in all the samples. Hybrid devices, fabricated from CCTS nanoparticle inorganic counterparts benefitting from the conjugation of organic P3HT polymer matrix, were demonstrated for photodetection under infra-red and A. M 1.5 solar light illuminations. Faster rise and decay constants of 37 ms and 166 ms, with one order photocurrent amplification from 1.6 x 10(-6) A in the dark to 6.55 x 10(-5) A, upon the 18.50 mW cm(-2) IR lamp illumination, make CCTS a potential candidate for photodetector and photovoltaic applications. (C) 2013 AIP Publishing LLC.

Graphene-MoS2 hybrid structures for multifunctional photoresponsive memory devices

Combining the electronic properties of graphene(1,2) and molybdenum disulphide (MoS2)(3-6) in hybrid heterostructures offers the possibility to create devices with various functionalities. Electronic logic and memory devices have already been constructed from graphene-MoS2 hybrids(7,8), but they do not make use of the photosensitivity of MoS2, which arises from its optical-range bandgap(9). Here, we demonstrate that graphene-on-MoS2 binary heterostructures display remarkable dual optoelectronic functionality, including highly sensitive photodetection and gate-tunable persistent photoconductivity. The responsivity of the hybrids was found to be nearly 1 x 10(10) A W-1 at 130 K and 5 x 10(8) A W-1 at room temperature, making them the most sensitive graphene-based photodetectors. When subjected to time-dependent photoillumination, the hybrids could also function as a rewritable optoelectronic switch or memory, where the persistent state shows almost no relaxation or decay within experimental timescales, indicating near-perfect charge retention. These effects can be quantitatively explained by gate-tunable charge exchange between the graphene and MoS2 layers, and may lead to new graphene-based optoelectronic devices that are naturally scalable for large-area applications at room temperature.

Transport properties of CuIn1-xAlxSe2/AZnO heterostructure for low cost thin film photovoltaics

CuIn1-xAlxSe2 (CIASe) thin films were grown by a simple sol-gel route followed by annealing under vacuum. Parameters related to the spin-orbit (Delta(SO)) and crystal field (Delta(CF)) were determined using a quasi-cubic model. Highly oriented (002) aluminum doped (2%) ZnO, 100 nm thin films, were co-sputtered for CuIn1-xAlxSe2/AZnO based solar cells. Barrier height and ideality factor varied from 0.63 eV to 0.51 eV and 1.3186 to 2.095 in the dark and under 1.38 A. M 1.5 solar illumination respectively. Current-voltage characteristics carried out at 300 K were confined to a triangle, exhibiting three limiting conduction mechanisms: Ohms law, trap-filled limit curve and SCLC, with 0.2 V being the cross-over voltage, for a quadratic transition from Ohm's to Child's law. Visible photodetection was demonstrated with a CIASe/AZO photodiode configuration. Photocurrent was enhanced by one order from 3 x 10(-3) A in the dark at 1 V to 3 x 10(-2) A upon 1.38 sun illumination. The optimized photodiode exhibits an external quantum efficiency of over 32% to 10% from 350 to 1100 nm at high intensity 17.99 mW cm(-2) solar illumination. High responsivity R-lambda similar to 920 A W-1, sensitivity S similar to 9.0, specific detectivity D* similar to 3 x 10(14) Jones, make CIASe a potential absorber for enhancing the forthcoming technological applications of photodetection.

Semipolar and nonpolar GaN epi-films grown on m-sapphire by plasma assisted molecular beam epitaxy

We hereby report the development of non-polar epi-GaN films of usable quality, on an m-plane sapphire. Generally, it is difficult to obtain high-quality nonpolar material due to the planar anisotropic nature of the growth mode. However, we could achieve good quality epi-GaN films by involving controlled steps of nitridation. GaN epilayers were grown on m-plane (10-10) sapphire substrates using plasma assisted molecular beam epitaxy. The films grown on the nitridated surface resulted in a nonpolar (10-10) orientation while without nitridation caused a semipolar (11-22) orientation. Room temperature photoluminescence study showed that nonpolar GaN films have higher value of compressive strain as compared to semipolar GaN films, which was further confirmed by room temperature Raman spectroscopy. The room temperature UV photodetection of both films was investigated by measuring the I-V characteristics under UV light illumination. UV photodetectors fabricated on nonpolar GaN showed better characteristics, including higher external quantum efficiency, compared to photodetectors fabricated on semipolar GaN. X-ray rocking curves confirmed better crystallinity of semipolar as compared to nonpolar GaN which resulted in faster transit response of the device. (C) 2014 AIP Publishing LLC.

Extremely High Near Field Enhancement in a Novel Plasmonic Nano Material used for Photovoltage Generation

Enhancement of localized electric field near metal (plasmonic) nanostructures can have various interesting applications in sensing, imaging, photovoltage generation etc., for which significant efforts are aimed towards developing plasmonic systems with well designed and large electromagnetic response. In this paper, we discuss the wafer scale fabrication and optical characterization of a unique three dimensional plasmonic material. The near field enhancement in the visible range of the electromagnetic spectrum obtained in these structures (order of 106), is close to the fundamental limit that can be obtained in this and similar EM field enhancement schemes. The large near field enhancement has been reflected in a huge Raman signal of graphene layer in close proximity to the plasmonic system, which has been validated with FEM simulations. We have integrated graphene photodetectors with this material to obtain record photovoltage generation, with responsivity as high as A/W. As far as we know, this is the highest sensitivity obtained in any plasmonic-graphene hybrid photodetection system till date.

Effect of Magnetic Field on Photoresponse of Cobalt Integrated Zinc Oxide Nanorods

Cobalt integrated zinc oxide nanorod (Co-ZnO NR) array is presented as a novel heterostructure for ultraviolet (UV) photodetector (PD). Defect states in Co-ZnO NRs surface induces an enhancement in photocurrent as compared to pristine ZnO NRs PD. Presented Co-ZnO NRs PD is highly sensitive to external magnetic field that demonstrated 185.7% enhancement in response current. It is concluded that the opposite polarizations of electron and holes in the presence of external magnetic field contribute to effective separation of electron hole pairs that have drifted upon UV illumination. Moreover, Co-ZnO NRs PD shows a faster photodetection speed (1.2 s response time and 7.4 s recovery time) as compared to the pristine ZnO NRs where the response and recovery times are observed as 38 and 195 s, respectively.