Colloidal nanocrystals from PbS are successfully applied in highly sensitive infrared photodetectors with various device architectures. Here, we demonstrate all-printed devices with high detectivity (∼10 12 cm Hz 1/2 /W) and a cutoff frequency of >3 kHz. The low material consumption (<0.3 mg per detector) and short processing time (14 s per detector) enabled by the automated printing promises extremely low device costs. To enable all-printed devices, an ink formulation was developed based on nanocrystals stabilized by perovskite-like methylammonium iodobismuthate ligands, which are dispersed in a ternary solvent. Fully inkjet printed devices based on this solvent were achieved with printed silver electrodes and a ZnO interlayer. Considerable improvements were obtained by the addition of small amounts of the polymer poly(vinylpyrrolidone) to the ink. The polymer improved the colloidal stability of the ink and its film-formation properties and thus enabled the scalable printing of single detectors and detector arrays. While photoconductors were shown here, the developed ink will certainly find application in a series of further electronic devices based on nanocrystals from a broad range of materials.

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Abstract:In this work, we investigate the electrical and dielectric response of lead sulfide (PbS) nanoparticle (NP) films with impedance spectroscopy. In particular, the influence of the ligand passivation on the surface trap state density of PbS NPs is demonstrated by comparing two different types of ligands: ethane-1,2-dithiol (EDT) and 3-sulfanylpropanoic acid (MPA). We observe that the MPA treatment passivates the PbS surface more efficiently than EDT. By analyzing the dielectric loss spectra, we are able to visualize shallow trap states in the bulk of PbS-EDT films and correlate this with the dispersive response observed in the impedance spectra. Evidence of deep trap states is revealed for both PbS-EDT and PbS-MPA diodes. Under illumination, the PbS-MPA and PbS-EDT films demonstrate almost identical trap profiles, showing solely the deep trap state densities. We conclude that the deep traps are related to the stoichiometry of the PbS NPs.

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