Can photodetectors be transparent and operate in self‐powered mode? Is it possible to achieve invisible electronics, independent of the external power supply system, for on‐site applications? Here, a ZnO/NiO heterojunction‐based high‐functional transparent ultraviolet (UV) photodetector operating in the self‐powered photovoltaic mode with outstanding responsivity and detectivity values of 6.9 A W−1 and 8.0 × 1012 Jones, respectively, is reported. The highest IUV/Idark value of 8.9 × 104 is attained at a wavelength of 385 nm, together with a very small dark current value of 9.15 × 10−12 A. A large‐scale sputtering method is adopted to deposit the heterostructure of n‐ZnO and p‐NiO sequentially. This deposition instinctively forms an abrupt junction, resulting in a high‐quality heterojunction device. Moreover, developing a ZnO/NiO‐heterojunction–based 4 × 5 matrix array with an output photovoltage of 4.5 V is preferred for integrating photodetectors into sensing and imaging systems. This transparent UV photodetector exhibits the fastest photo‐response time (83 ns) reported for array configurations, which is achieved using an exciton‐induced photovoltage based on a neutral donor–bound exciton. Overall, this study provides a simple method for achieving a high‐performance large‐scale transparent UV photodetector with a self‐powered array configuration.
Smart buildings and near‐zero‐energy buildings require building integrated photovoltaic systems to minimize energy consumption and achieve photocommunication. Windows can be the next replaceable entity in smart buildings with smart photocommunication windows. It can provide a novel means of wireless and secured communication. The transparent photovoltaics (TPV) based photocommunication window can also produce on‐site power to provide power to run applications of internet of things. A TPV device can be used as the receiver to collect the encoded signals, and its physical flexibility is imperative to its installation on any curved surfaces. In this work, a Ga2O3/Cu2O heterojunction‐based flexible TPV (FTPV) that acts as a photocommunication window to sense Morse code‐embedded photosignals is developed and power is produced. The FTPV provides a high open‐circuit voltage of 613 mV with an average visible transmittance of 52.3%. The device is capable of detecting broadband photoresponses in the range from UV to NIR. The FTPV also remains highly robust after a number of cycles of bending and continues to record Morse code signals over a wide range of broadband photosignals. It also has an ultra‐UV‐blocking feature that makes it suitable for use to prevent chronic diseases caused by exposure to UV radiation.
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