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Nano Research 2015, 8(4): 1098-1107 https://doi.org/10.1007/s12274-014-0587-8
Research Article | Issue | Published: 29 October 2014

Interfacial state induced ultrasensitive ultraviolet light photodetector with resolved flux down to 85 photons per second

Show Author's Information Yong-Qiang Yu1,  Lin-Bao Luo1( ),  Ming-Zheng Wang1,  Bo Wang1,  Long-Hui Zeng1,  Chun-Yan Wu1,  Jian-Sheng Jie2( ),  Jian-Wei Liu1,  Li Wang1,  Shu-Hong Yu3( )
School of Electronic Science and Applied PhysicsAnhui Provincial Key Laboratory of Advanced Functional Materials and Devices, Hefei University of TechnologyHefei, Anhui230009China
Institute of Functional Nano & Soft Materials (FUNSOM) and Jiangsu Key Laboratory for Carbon-Based Functional Materials & DevicesSoochow UniversitySuzhou, Jiangsu215123China
Division of Nanomaterials & Chemistry, Hefei National Laboratory for Physical Sciences at Microscale, Department of ChemistryUniversity of Science and Technology of ChinaHefei230026China
Keywords:
detectivity, optoelectronic device, Ⅱ-Ⅵ group, Schottky barrier diode, interfacial states
Cite this article:
Yu Y-Q, Luo L-B, Wang M-Z, et al. Interfacial state induced ultrasensitive ultraviolet light photodetector with resolved flux down to 85 photons per second. Nano Research, 2015, 8(4): 1098-1107. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12274-014-0587-8
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Abstract Full text Electronic supplementary material About this article

We present an ultrasensitive ultraviolet (UV) detector based on a p-type ZnS nanoribbon (NR)/indium tin oxide (ITO) Schottky barrier diode (SBD). The device exhibits a pseudo-photovoltaic behavior which can allow the SBD to detect UV light irradiation with incident power of 6 × 10-17 W (~85 photons/s on the NR) at room temperature, with excellent reproducibility and stability. The corresponding detectivity and photoconductive gain are calculated to be 3.1 × 1020 cm·Hz1/2·W-1 and 6.6 × 105, respectively. It is found that the presence of the trapping states at the p-ZnS NR/ITO interface plays a crucial role in determining the ultrahigh sensitivity of this nanoSBDs. Based on our theoretical calculation, even ultra-low photon fluxes on the order of several tens of photons could induce a significant change in interface potential and consequently cause a large photocurrent variation. The present study provides new opportunities for developing high-performance optoelectronic devices in the future.


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About this article

Interfacial state induced ultrasensitive ultraviolet light photodetector with resolved flux down to 85 photons per second

Show Author's information Yong-Qiang Yu1, Lin-Bao Luo1( ), Ming-Zheng Wang1, Bo Wang1, Long-Hui Zeng1, Chun-Yan Wu1, Jian-Sheng Jie2( ), Jian-Wei Liu1, Li Wang1, Shu-Hong Yu3( )
School of Electronic Science and Applied PhysicsAnhui Provincial Key Laboratory of Advanced Functional Materials and Devices, Hefei University of TechnologyHefei, Anhui230009China
Institute of Functional Nano & Soft Materials (FUNSOM) and Jiangsu Key Laboratory for Carbon-Based Functional Materials & DevicesSoochow UniversitySuzhou, Jiangsu215123China
Division of Nanomaterials & Chemistry, Hefei National Laboratory for Physical Sciences at Microscale, Department of ChemistryUniversity of Science and Technology of ChinaHefei230026China

Abstract

We present an ultrasensitive ultraviolet (UV) detector based on a p-type ZnS nanoribbon (NR)/indium tin oxide (ITO) Schottky barrier diode (SBD). The device exhibits a pseudo-photovoltaic behavior which can allow the SBD to detect UV light irradiation with incident power of 6 × 10-17 W (~85 photons/s on the NR) at room temperature, with excellent reproducibility and stability. The corresponding detectivity and photoconductive gain are calculated to be 3.1 × 1020 cm·Hz1/2·W-1 and 6.6 × 105, respectively. It is found that the presence of the trapping states at the p-ZnS NR/ITO interface plays a crucial role in determining the ultrahigh sensitivity of this nanoSBDs. Based on our theoretical calculation, even ultra-low photon fluxes on the order of several tens of photons could induce a significant change in interface potential and consequently cause a large photocurrent variation. The present study provides new opportunities for developing high-performance optoelectronic devices in the future.

Keywords: detectivity, optoelectronic device, Ⅱ-Ⅵ group, Schottky barrier diode, interfacial states

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Publication history
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Acknowledgements

Publication history

Received: 07 August 2014
Revised: 12 September 2014
Accepted: 16 September 2014
Published: 29 October 2014
Issue date: April 2015

Copyright

© Tsinghua University Press and Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2014

Acknowledgements

Acknowledgements

The authors acknowledge the funding support from the National Basic Research Program of China (Grants Nos. 2013CB933900, 2014CB931800, and 2010CB934700), the Major Research Plan of the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grants Nos. 91027021 and 91233110), the National High Technology Research and Development Program of China (Grant No. 2007AA03Z301), the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grants Nos. 91022032, 21101051, 61106010, 51172151, 91227103, and 21431006), and the Natural Science Foundation of Anhui Province (Grant No. J2014AKZR0059).

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