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Nano Research 2023, 16(4): 5503-5510 https://doi.org/10.1007/s12274-022-5086-8
Research Article | Issue | Published: 14 November 2022

Polarization-induced photocurrent switching effect in heterojunction photodiodes

Show Author's Information Dingbo Chen1,  Yu-Chang Chen1,  Guang Zeng1,  Yu-Chun Li1,  Xiao-Xi Li1,  Dong Li2,  Chao Shen2( ),  Nan Chi2,  Boon S. Ooi3,  David Wei Zhang1,  Hong-Liang Lu1 ( )
State Key Laboratory of ASIC and System, Shanghai Institute of Intelligent Electronics & Systems, School of Microelectronics, Fudan University, Shanghai 200433, China
Key Laboratory for Information Science of Electromagnetic Waves, Department of Communication Science and Engineering, Fudan University, Shanghai 200433, China
Photonics Laboratory, Division of Computer, Electrical, and Mathematical Sciences and Engineering, King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), Thuwal 23955-6900, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
Keywords:
GaN heterostructure, ultraviolet (UV) photodiodes, bipolar photocurrent, optical logic device
Topics:
Photodiodes
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Chen D, Chen Y-C, Zeng G, et al. Polarization-induced photocurrent switching effect in heterojunction photodiodes. Nano Research, 2023, 16(4): 5503-5510. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12274-022-5086-8
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Abstract Full text Electronic supplementary material About this article

The unipolar photocurrent in conventional photodiodes (PDs) based on photovoltaic effect limits the output modes and potential versatility of these devices in photodetection. Bipolar photodiodes with photocurrent switching are emerging as a promising solution for obtaining photoelectric devices with unique and attractive functions, such as optical logic operation. Here, we design an all-solid-state chip-scale ultraviolet (UV) PD based on a hybrid GaN heterojunction with engineered bipolar polarized electric field. By introducing the polarization-induced photocurrent switching effect, the photocurrent direction can be switched in response to the wavelength of incident light at 0 V bias. In particular, the photocurrent direction exhibits negative when the irradiation wavelength is less than 315 nm, but positive when the wavelength is longer than 315 nm. The device shows a responsivity of up to −6.7 mA/W at 300 nm and 5.3 mA/W at 340 nm, respectively. In particular, three special logic gates in response to different dual UV light inputs are demonstrated via a single bipolar PD, which may be beneficial for future multifunctional UV photonic integrated devices and systems.


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Electronic supplementary material
About this article

Polarization-induced photocurrent switching effect in heterojunction photodiodes

Show Author's information Dingbo Chen1, Yu-Chang Chen1, Guang Zeng1, Yu-Chun Li1, Xiao-Xi Li1, Dong Li2, Chao Shen2( ), Nan Chi2, Boon S. Ooi3, David Wei Zhang1, Hong-Liang Lu1 ( )
State Key Laboratory of ASIC and System, Shanghai Institute of Intelligent Electronics & Systems, School of Microelectronics, Fudan University, Shanghai 200433, China
Key Laboratory for Information Science of Electromagnetic Waves, Department of Communication Science and Engineering, Fudan University, Shanghai 200433, China
Photonics Laboratory, Division of Computer, Electrical, and Mathematical Sciences and Engineering, King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), Thuwal 23955-6900, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

Abstract

The unipolar photocurrent in conventional photodiodes (PDs) based on photovoltaic effect limits the output modes and potential versatility of these devices in photodetection. Bipolar photodiodes with photocurrent switching are emerging as a promising solution for obtaining photoelectric devices with unique and attractive functions, such as optical logic operation. Here, we design an all-solid-state chip-scale ultraviolet (UV) PD based on a hybrid GaN heterojunction with engineered bipolar polarized electric field. By introducing the polarization-induced photocurrent switching effect, the photocurrent direction can be switched in response to the wavelength of incident light at 0 V bias. In particular, the photocurrent direction exhibits negative when the irradiation wavelength is less than 315 nm, but positive when the wavelength is longer than 315 nm. The device shows a responsivity of up to −6.7 mA/W at 300 nm and 5.3 mA/W at 340 nm, respectively. In particular, three special logic gates in response to different dual UV light inputs are demonstrated via a single bipolar PD, which may be beneficial for future multifunctional UV photonic integrated devices and systems.

Keywords: GaN heterostructure, ultraviolet (UV) photodiodes, bipolar photocurrent, optical logic device

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Publication history
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Acknowledgements

Publication history

Received: 27 August 2022
Revised: 18 September 2022
Accepted: 20 September 2022
Published: 14 November 2022
Issue date: April 2023

Copyright

© Tsinghua University Press 2022

Acknowledgements

Acknowledgements

This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Nos. 62027818, 51861135105, 61874034, and 11974320), the National Key Research and Development Program of China (No. 2021YFB3202500), and International Science and Technology Cooperation Program of Shanghai Science and Technology Innovation Action Plan (No. 21520713300).

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