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Enhanced performance of GaN nanobelt-based photodetectors by means of piezotronic effects

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Abstract

GaN ultraviolet (UV) photodetectors (PDs) have attracted tremendous attention due to their chemical stability in harsh environments. Although Schottky-contacted GaN-based UV PDs have been implemented with better performance than that of ohmic contacts, it remains unknown how the barrier height at local Schottky contacts controls the sensors’ performance. In this work, the piezotronic effect was employed to tune the Schottky barrier height (SBH) at local contacts and hence enhance the performances of Schottky-contacted metal-semiconductor-metal (MSM) structured GaN nanobelt (NB)-based PDs. In general, the response level of the PDs was obviously enhanced by the piezotronic effect when applying a strain on devices. The responsivity of the PD was increased by 18%, and the sensitivity was enhanced by from 22% to 31%, when illuminated by a 325 nm laser with light intensity ranging from 12 to 2 W/cm2. Carefully studying the mechanism using band structure diagrams reveals that the observed enhancement of the PD performance resulted from the change in SBH caused by external strain as well as light intensity. Using piezotronic effects thus provides a practical way to enhance the performance of PDs made not only of GaN, but also other wurtzite and zinc blende family materials.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Materials Science and Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, Georgia, 30332-0245, USA

    Ruomeng Yu, Youfan Hu & Zhong Lin Wang

  2. Beijing Institute of Nanoenergy and Nanosystems, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China

    Caofeng Pan & Zhong Lin Wang

  3. School of Physics, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, Georgia, 30332, USA

    Lin Li

  4. Institute of Materials Research and Engineering, A*STAR (Agency for Science, Technology, and Research), Singapore, 117602, Singapore

    Hongfei Liu, Soojin Chua & Dongzhi Chi

  5. School of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, Luminous! Center of Excellence for Semiconductor Lighting and Display, Nanyang Technology University, Singapore, 639798, Singapore

    Wei Liu

Authors
  1. Ruomeng Yu
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  2. Caofeng Pan
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  3. Youfan Hu
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  4. Lin Li
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  5. Hongfei Liu
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  6. Wei Liu
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  9. Zhong Lin Wang
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Correspondence to Zhong Lin Wang.

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These authors contributed equally to this work.

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Yu, R., Pan, C., Hu, Y. et al. Enhanced performance of GaN nanobelt-based photodetectors by means of piezotronic effects. Nano Res. 6, 758–766 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12274-013-0354-2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12274-013-0354-2

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