Skip to main content
Log in

A high photocurrent gain in UV photodetector based on Cu doped ZnO nanorods on PEN substrate

  • Published:
Journal of Materials Science: Materials in Electronics Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Vertical well-aligned Cu-doped ZnO nanorods were successfully synthesized by chemical bath deposition (CBD) method on low cost and flexible polyethylene naphthalate (PEN) substrate. The structural and optical investigations exhibited the high quality of the Cu-doped ZnO nanorods on a flexible PEN substrate. The metal-semiconductor-metal (MSM) configuration was used to fabricate UV photodetector based on the Cu-doped ZnO nanorods grown on PEN substrate. Under a 5 V applied bias, the values of dark current and photocurrent of the Cu-doped ZnO nanorods photodetector were 14.9 µA and 3.27 mA, respectively. Meanwhile, calculated photocurrent gain of the UV photodetector was 219 at 5 V bias voltage. Upon exposure to 365 nm UV light, the UV device exhibited fast response time and recovery time of 0.317 and 0.212 s, respectively, at a bias voltage of 5 V.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3
Fig. 4
Fig. 5
Fig. 6
Fig. 7

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. S. Bai, W. Wu, Y. Qin, N. Cui, D.J. Bayerl, X. Wang, High-performance integrated ZnO nanowire UV sensors on rigid and flexible substrates. Adv. Func. Mater. 21, 4464–4469 (2011)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  2. Y. Hou, Z. Mei, H. Liang, D. Ye, S. Liang, C. Gu, X. Du, Comparative study of n-MgZnO/p-Si ultraviolet-B photodetector performance with different device structures. Appl. Phys. Lett. 98, 263501 (2011)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  3. G. Cheng, X. Wu, B. Liu, B. Li, X. Zhang, Z. Du, ZnO nanowire Schottky barrier ultraviolet photodetector with high sensitivity and fast recovery speed. Appl. Phys. Lett. 99, 203105 (2011)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  4. P. Ivanoff Reyes, C.-J. Ku, Z. Duan, Y. Xu, E. Garfunkel, Y. Lu, Reduction of persistent photoconductivity in ZnO thin film transistor-based UV photodetector. Appl. Phys. Lett. 101, 031118 (2012)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  5. M.H. Huang, S. Mao, H. Feick, H. Yan, Y. Wu, H. Kind, E. Weber, R. Russo, P. Yang, Room-temperature ultraviolet nanowire nanolasers. Science 292, 1897–1899 (2001)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  6. Q. Wan, Q. Li, Y. Chen, T. Wang, X. He, J. Li, C. Lin, Fabrication and ethanol sensing characteristics of ZnO nanowire gas sensors. Appl. Phys. Lett. 84, 3654–3656 (2004)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  7. Y. Ryu, T.S. Lee, J.A. Lubguban, H.W. White, B.J. Kim, Y.S. Park, C.J. Youn, Next generation of oxide photonic devices: ZnO-based ultraviolet light emitting diodes. Appl. Phys. Lett. 88, 241103–241108 (2006)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  8. X. Wang, J. Song, J. Liu, Z.L. Wang, Direct-current nanogenerator driven by ultrasonic waves. Science. 316, 102–105 (2007)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  9. D. Shao, M. Yu, J. Lian, S. Sawyer, Heterojunction photodiode fabricated from hydrogen treated ZnO nanowires grown on p-silicon substrate. Appl. Phys. Lett. 101, 211103 (2012)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  10. J. Hassan, M. Mahdi, S. Kasim, N.M. Ahmed, H. Abu Hassan, Z. Hassan, High sensitivity and fast response and recovery times in a ZnO nanorod array/p-Si self-powered ultraviolet detector. Appl. Phys. Lett. 101, 261108 (2012)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  11. C. Soci, A. Zhang, B. Xiang, S.A. Dayeh, D. Aplin, J. Park, X. Bao, Y.-H. Lo, D. Wang, ZnO nanowire UV photodetectors with high internal gain. Nano Lett. 7, 1003–1009 (2007)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  12. A. Bera, D. Basak, Role of defects in the anomalous photoconductivity in ZnO nanowires. Appl. Phys. Lett. 94, 163119 (2009)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  13. H.K. Yadav, K. Sreenivas, V. Gupta, Persistent photoconductivity due to trapping of induced charges in Sn/ZnO thin film based UV photodetector. Appl. Phys. Lett. 96, 223507 (2010)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  14. X. Xie, Z. Zhang, C. Shan, H. Chen, D. Shen, Dual-color ultraviolet photodetector based on mixed-phase-MgZnO/i-MgO/p-Si double heterojunction. Appl. Phys. Lett. 101, 081104 (2012)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  15. D. Shao, M. Yu, J. Lian, S. Sawyer, Heterojunction photodiode fabricated from multiwalled carbon nanotube/ZnO nanowire/p-silicon composite structure. Appl. Phys. Lett. 102, 021107 (2013)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  16. D. Shao, M. Yu, H. Sun, T. Hu, S. Sawyer, High responsivity, fast ultraviolet photodetector fabricated from ZnO nanoparticle–graphene core–shell structures. Nanoscale 5, 3664–3667 (2013)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  17. D. Lin, H. Wu, W. Zhang, H. Li, W. Pan, Enhanced UV photoresponse from heterostructured Ag–ZnO nanowires. Appl. Phys. Lett. 94, 172103 (2009)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  18. P.-J. Li, Z.-M. Liao, X.-Z. Zhang, X.-J. Zhang, H.-C. Zhu, J.-Y. Gao, K. Laurent, Y. Leprince-Wang, N. Wang, D.-P. Yu, Electrical and photoresponse properties of an intramolecular pn homojunction in single phosphorus-doped ZnO nanowires. Nano lett. 9 2513–2518 (2009)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  19. Y. Hou, Z. Mei, H. Liang, D. Ye, C. Gu, X. Du, Dual-band MgZnO ultraviolet photodetector integrated with Si. Appl. Phys. Lett. 102, 153510 (2013)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  20. R.C. Wang, H.Y. Lin, C.H. Wang, C.P. Liu, Fabrication of a large-area Al-doped ZnO nanowire array photosensor with enhanced photoresponse by straining. Adv. Func. Mater. 22, 3875–3881 (2012)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  21. Ü Özgür, Y.I. Alivov, C. Liu, A. Teke, M. Reshchikov, S. Doğan, V. Avrutin, S.-J. Cho, H. Morkoc, A comprehensive review of ZnO materials and devices. J. Appl. Phys. 98, 11 (2005)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  22. X. Feng, Electronic structures and ferromagnetism of Cu-and Mn-doped ZnO. J. Phys. 16, 4251 (2004)

    Google Scholar 

  23. R. Rooydell, S. Brahma, R.-C. Wang, M.R. Modaberi, F. Ebrahimzadeh, C.-P. Liu, Cu doped ZnO nanorods with controllable Cu content by using single metal organic precursors and their photocatalytic and luminescence properties. J. Alloy. Compd. 691, 936–945 (2017)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  24. E. Ohshima, H. Ogino, I. Niikura, K. Maeda, M. Sato, M. Ito, T. Fukuda, Growth of the 2-in-size bulk ZnO single crystals by the hydrothermal method. J. Cryst. Growth 260, 166–170 (2004)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  25. M. Guo, P. Diao, X. Wang, S. Cai, The effect of hydrothermal growth temperature on preparation and photoelectrochemical performance of ZnO nanorod array films. J. Solid State Chem. 178, 3210–3215 (2005)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  26. R. Shabannia, Vertically aligned ZnO nanorods on porous silicon substrates: effect of growth time. Prog. Nat. Sci. 25, 95–100 (2015)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  27. S.-P. Chang, T.-H. Chang, Use of the thermal chemical vapor deposition to fabricate light-emitting diodes based on ZnO nanowire/p-GaN heterojunction. J. Nanomater. 2011, 8 (2011)

    Google Scholar 

  28. B. Yuan, X.J. Zheng, Y.Q. Chen, B. Yang, T. Zhang, High photosensitivity and low dark current of photoconductive semiconductor switch based on ZnO single nanobelt. Solid-State Electron. 55, 49–53 (2011)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  29. D.Y. Kim, S. Lee, Z.-H. Lin, K.H. Choi, S.G. Doo, H. Chang, J.-Y. Leem, Z.L. Wang, S.-O. Kim, High temperature processed ZnO nanorods using flexible and transparent mica substrates for dye-sensitized solar cells and piezoelectric nanogenerators. Nano Energy. 9, 101–111 (2014)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  30. J. Kar, S. Das, J. Choi, Y. Lee, T. Lee, J. Myoung, Fabrication of UV detectors based on ZnO nanowires using silicon microchannel. J. Cryst. Growth 311, 3305–3309 (2009)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  31. A. Bera, T. Ghosh, D. Basak, Enhanced photoluminescence and photoconductivity of ZnO nanowires with sputtered Zn. ACS Appl. Mater. Interfaces 2, 2898–2903 (2010)

    Google Scholar 

  32. C.Y. Lee, S.Y. Li, P. Lin, T.Y. Tseng, ZnO nanowires hydrothermally grown on PET polymer substrates and their characteristics. J. Nanosci. Nanotechnol 5, 1088–1094 (2005)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  33. E.L. Bedia, S. Murakami, T. Kitade, S. Kohjiya, Structural development and mechanical properties of polyethylene naphthalate/polyethylene terephthalate blends during uniaxial drawing. Polymer 42, 7299–7305 (2001)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  34. N.H. Hashim, S. Subramani, M. Devarajan, A.R. Ibrahim, Structural and surface characterization of undoped ZnO and Cu doped ZnO using sol–gel spin coating method. J. Mater. Sci. 27, 3520–3530 (2016)

    Google Scholar 

  35. M. El-Hilo, A. Dakhel, A. Ali-Mohamed, Room temperature ferromagnetism in nanocrystalline Ni-doped ZnO synthesized by co-precipitation. J. Magn. Magn. Mater. 321, 2279–2283 (2009)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  36. H. Yoon, K. Lee, T. Lee, B. Cheong, D. Choi, D. Kim, W. Kim, Properties of fluorine doped ZnO thin films deposited by magnetron sputtering. Sol. Energy Mater. Sol. Cells 92, 1366–1372 (2008)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  37. Z. Ye, T. Wang, S. Wu, X. Ji, Q. Zhang, Na-doped ZnO nanorods fabricated by chemical vapor deposition and their optoelectrical properties. J. Alloy. Compd. 690, 189–194 (2017)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  38. K. Noipa, S. Rujirawat, R. Yimnirun, V. Promarak, S. Maensiri, Synthesis, structural, optical and magnetic properties of Cu-doped ZnO nanorods prepared by a simple direct thermal decomposition route. Appl. Phys. A 117, 927–935 (2014)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  39. R. Shabannia, H.A. Hassan, Controllable vertically aligned ZnO nanorods on flexible polyethylene naphthalate (PEN) substrate using chemical bath deposition synthesis. Appl. Phys. A 114, 579–584 (2014)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  40. K. Vanheusden, W. Warren, C. Seager, D. Tallant, J. Voigt, B. Gnade, Mechanisms behind green photoluminescence in ZnO phosphor powders. J. Appl. Phys. 79, 7983–7990 (1996)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  41. M. Liu, A. Kitai, P. Mascher, Point defects and luminescence centres in zinc oxide and zinc oxide doped with manganese. J. Lumin. 54, 35–42 (1992)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  42. J. Zhong, A.H. Kitai, P. Mascher, W. Puff, The influence of processing conditions on point defects and luminescence centers in ZnO. J. Electrochem. Soc. 140, 3644–3649 (1993)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  43. R. Dingle, Luminescent transitions associated with divalent copper impurities and the green emission from semiconducting zinc oxide. Phys. Rev. Lett. 23, 579 (1969)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  44. M. Pashchanka, R.C. Hoffmann, A. Gurlo, J.C. Swarbrick, J. Khanderi, J. Engstler, A. Issanin, J.J. Schneider, A molecular approach to Cu doped ZnO nanorods with tunable dopant content. Dalton Trans. 40, 4307–4314 (2011)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  45. H. Kind, H. Yan, B. Messer, M. Law, P. Yang, Nanowire ultraviolet photodetectors and optical switches. Adv. Mater. 14, 158 (2002)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  46. P. Sharma, K. Sreenivas, K. Rao, Analysis of ultraviolet photoconductivity in ZnO films prepared by unbalanced magnetron sputtering. J. Appl. Phys. 93, 3963–3970 (2003)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  47. R. Shabannia, H.A. Hassan, Characteristics of photoconductive UV photodetector based on ZnO nanorods grown on polyethylene naphthalate substrate by chemical bath deposition method. Electron. Mater. Lett. 10, 837–843 (2014)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  48. J. Bellini, M. Morelli, R. Kiminami, Electrical properties of polycrystalline ZnO: Cu obtained from freeze-dried ZnO + copper (II) acetate powders. J. Mater. Sci. 13, 485–489 (2002)

    Google Scholar 

  49. C. West, D. Robbins, P. Dean, W. Hayes, The luminescence of copper in zinc oxide. Phys. B + C 116, 492–499 (1983)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  50. A.M. Selman, Z. Hassan, Highly sensitive fast-response UV photodiode fabricated from rutile TiO2 nanorod array on silicon substrate. Sens Actuators A 221, 15–21 (2015)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  51. O. Farhat, M. Halim, M. Abdullah, M. Ali, N.M. Ahmed, N.K. Allam, Growth of vertically aligned ZnO nanorods on Teflon as a novel substrate for low-power flexible light sensors. Appl. Phys. A 119, 1197–1201 (2015)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  52. N. Hassan, M. Hashim, N.K. Allam, Low power UV photodetection characteristics of cross-linked ZnO nanorods/nanotetrapods grown on silicon chip. Sens. Actuators A 192, 124–129 (2013)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  53. I.-C. Yao, T.-Y. Tseng, P. Lin, ZnO nanorods grown on polymer substrates as UV photodetectors. Sens. Actuators A 178, 26–31 (2012)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  54. M. Rajabi, R. Dariani, UV photodetection of laterally connected ZnO rods grown on porous silicon substrate. Sens. Actuators A 180, 11–14 (2012)

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

The author gratefully acknowledges the financial support of Babol University of Technology.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Reza Shabannia.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Shabannia, R. A high photocurrent gain in UV photodetector based on Cu doped ZnO nanorods on PEN substrate. J Mater Sci: Mater Electron 29, 11646–11652 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10854-018-9262-2

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10854-018-9262-2

Navigation