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Broadband photovoltaic effect of n-type topological insulator Bi2Te3 films on p-type Si substrates

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Abstract

We report the photovoltaic effects of n-type topological insulator (TI) Bi2Te3 films grown on p-type Si substrates by chemical vapor deposition (CVD). The films containing large nanoplates with a smooth surface formed on p-Si exhibit good p–n diode characteristics under dark and light illumination conditions and display a good photovoltaic effect under the broadband range from ultraviolet (UV) to near infrared (NIR) wavelengths. Under the light illumination with a wavelength of 1,000 nm, a short circuit current (I SC) of 19.2 μA and an open circuit voltage (V OC) of 235 mV are achieved. The maximum fill factor (FF) increases with a decrease in the wavelength or light density, achieving a value of 35.6% under 600 nm illumination. The photoresponse of the n-Bi2Te3/p-Si device can be effectively switched between the on and off modes in millisecond time scale. These findings are important for both the fundamental understanding and solar cell device applications of TI materials.

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Acknowledgements

Z. H. W. acknowledges the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 51522104). X. P. A. G. acknowledges the NSF CAREER Award program (No. DMR-1151534) for financial support of research at CWRU. Z. D. Z. acknowledges the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Nos. 51590883, 51331006 and KJZD-EW-M05-3).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Shenyang National Laboratory for Materials Science, Institute of Metal Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 72 Wenhua Road, Shenyang, 110016, China

    Zhenhua Wang, Mingze Li, Liang Yang & Zhidong Zhang

  2. School of Materials Science and Engineering, University of Science and Technology of China, 96 Jinzhai Road, Hefei, 230026, China

    Zhenhua Wang, Mingze Li, Liang Yang & Zhidong Zhang

  3. Department of Physics, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio, 44106, USA

    Xuan P. A. Gao

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  1. Zhenhua Wang
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  2. Mingze Li
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  4. Zhidong Zhang
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Correspondence to Zhidong Zhang or Xuan P. A. Gao.

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Wang, Z., Li, M., Yang, L. et al. Broadband photovoltaic effect of n-type topological insulator Bi2Te3 films on p-type Si substrates. Nano Res. 10, 1872–1879 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12274-016-1369-2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12274-016-1369-2

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