Au-Nanoplasmonics-Mediated Surface Plasmon-Enhanced GaN Nanostructured UV Photodetectors

Abstract

The nanoplasmonic impact of chemically synthesized Au nanoparticles (Au NPs) on the performance of GaN nanostructure-based ultraviolet (UV) photodetectors is analyzed. The devices with uniformly distributed Au NPs on GaN nanostructures (nanoislands and nanoflowers) prominently respond toward UV illumination (325 nm) in both self-powered as well as photoconductive modes of operation and have shown fast and stable time-correlated response with significant enhancement in the performance parameters. A comprehensive analysis of the device design, laser power, and bias-dependent responsivity and response time is presented. The fabricated Au NP/GaN nanoflower-based device yields the highest photoresponsivity of ∼ 380 mA/W, detectivity of ∼ 1010 jones, reduced noise equivalent power of ∼ 5.5 × 10–13 W Hz–1/2, quantum efficiency of ∼ 145%, and fast response/recovery time of ∼40 ms. The report illustrates the mechanism where light interacts with the chemically synthesized nanoparticles guided by the surface plasmon to effectively enhance the device performance. It is observed that the Au NP-stimulated local surface plasmon resonance effect and reduced channel resistance contribute to the augmented performance of the devices. Further, the decoration of low-dimensional Au NPs on GaN nanostructures acts as a detection enhancer with a fast recovery time and paves the way toward the realization of energy-efficient optoelectronic device applications.

Graphene Quantum Dot-Sensitized ZnO-Nanorod/GaN-Nanotower Heterostructure-Based High-Performance UV Photodetectors

“…49,52 Conclusively, the carrier lifetime for the GQD-sensitized sample is distinctively shorter than that of bare ZnO/GaN, which consolidates that the GQDs almost eliminated the defect-oriented extra lifetime and improved the activation as well as retardation time, which made the device quicker to respond. Further, the impact of sensitization on the heterojunctionbased device has been determined in terms of photodetector performance parameters such as responsivity (R), detectivity (D), NEP, and EQE (η) 8,53,54 using the following equations…”

“…Further, the impact of sensitization on the heterojunction-based device has been determined in terms of photodetector performance parameters such as responsivity ( R ), detectivity ( D ), NEP, and EQE (η) ,, using the following equations where P inc is the incident optical power illuminated on the active area of the device to generate corresponding carriers out of absorbed incident UV photons, A 0 is an active area of the fabricated device, I ph and I d are the measured photocurrent and dark current, h is Planck’s constant, c is the speed of light, e is the elementary charge, and λ is the incident photon wavelength of the illuminating source. A change in photocurrent as a function of applied bias voltage (−6 to 6 V) at P opt of 3.2 mW/cm 2 for both bare and sensitized fabricated photodetectors is shown in Figure a.…”

Aluminum Plasmonics Enriched Ultraviolet GaN Photodetector with Ultrahigh Responsivity, Detectivity, and Broad Bandwidth

“…Therefore, plasmonics-empowered photodetections have been achieved up to IR and visible frequencies, but rarely in the UV regime. [15][16][17] Instead of Ag and Au, aluminum (Al), the most abundant metal in the Earth's crust, can fulfill the need for less investigated UV plasmonics. Al is advantageous owing to its low intrinsic loss, high plasma frequency (≈15 eV), low screening ( ∞ ≈ 1), and complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS) compatibility.…”

Current advances in solar-blind photodetection technology: using Ga2O3 and AlGaN

“…Here, the study of light–matter interaction via the decoration of metal nanoparticles (NPs) on the absorbing layer will be scrutinized, given that it offers strong possibilities to boost the performance of SB UV PDs. 60–62 These metal NPs stimulate the hot carriers channelled by the local surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) effect for improving the performance of PD. In this phenomenon, light exposure induces the combination of the oscillations of the free electrons present in the conduction bands near the interface between the metal NPs and semiconductors.…”