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

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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.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Electronic Science and Applied Physics, Anhui Provincial Key Laboratory of Advanced Functional Materials and Devices, Hefei University of Technology, Hefei, Anhui, 230009, China

    Yong-Qiang Yu, Lin-Bao Luo, Ming-Zheng Wang, Bo Wang, Long-Hui Zeng, Chun-Yan Wu, Jian-Wei Liu & Li Wang

  2. Institute of Functional Nano & Soft Materials (FUNSOM) and Jiangsu Key Laboratory for Carbon-Based Functional Materials & Devices, Soochow University, Suzhou, Jiangsu, 215123, China

    Jian-Sheng Jie

  3. Division of Nanomaterials & Chemistry, Hefei National Laboratory for Physical Sciences at Microscale, Department of Chemistry, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, 230026, China

    Shu-Hong Yu

Authors
  1. Yong-Qiang Yu
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  2. Lin-Bao Luo
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  3. Ming-Zheng Wang
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  4. Bo Wang
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  7. Jian-Sheng Jie
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  8. Jian-Wei Liu
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  9. Li Wang
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Correspondence to Lin-Bao Luo, Jian-Sheng Jie or Shu-Hong Yu.

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Yu, YQ., Luo, LB., Wang, MZ. et al. Interfacial state induced ultrasensitive ultraviolet light photodetector with resolved flux down to 85 photons per second. Nano Res. 8, 1098–1107 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12274-014-0587-8

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12274-014-0587-8

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