Filterless Ultraviolet Detector Based on Cerium Fluoride Thin Film Grown by Pulsed Laser Deposition

Abstract

We report on an ultraviolet photoconductive detector based on cerium fluoride (CeF3) thin films. CeF3 thin films were grown on quartz glass substrates by the pulsed laser deposition (PLD) method. Optimization of the substrate temperature using the PLD method successfully increased the photocurrent of the CeF3 detector. The photocurrent increases linearly up to at least 600 V. The sample grown at 670 K shows the highest crystallinity and orientation. This sample shows a response in the wavelength range below 310 nm without any filters. Additionally, the measured dielectric-breakdown field of this detector exceeded 15 kV/cm.

Eu3+-activated CaGa2O4 wide band gap (WBG) material for solar blind UV conversion: fluorescence and photo-conductivity performance

“…organic, inorganic, hybrids, nanostructures, and thin lms, have been explored widely for this purpose, and some of them are attaining commercial viability too. [6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16] However, the material stability, especially in terms of luminescence, is a key limitation with the organics and thin lms; moreover the ecological viability, as some materials are very toxic (like uorides) and are not biodegradable, and the cost effectiveness still impose a strong quest for the search of exotic, low-cost and efficient alternative materials for solar blind UV sensing applications.…”

Femtosecond PLD-grown YF3 nanoparticle thin films as improved filterless VUV photoconductive detectors

“…Figure 1 shows that a fluoride thin film with an average particle size as small as 159 nm can be fabricated using a low laser fluence. Previous works on PLDgrown fluoride thin films using nanosecond (ns) lasers reported droplets with diameter ranging from 200 nm up to 1 µm on a flat film, and cracks were observed on both flat layer and cracks [22][23][24]. On the contrast, the fs PLD-grown films consist of nanoparticles with average diameter less than 330 nm without flat layer, and no crack was observed on these films.…”

“…Fluoride compounds have band gaps that are wider than the currently used diamond and nitride-based semiconductors [15][16][17][18][19][20][21]. Previously, we have demonstrated filterless UV and VUV PCDs based on neodymium fluoride (NdF 3 ) [22] and cerium fluoride (CeF 3 ) [23,24] thin films grown by pulsed laser deposition (PLD). In our previous works, the NdF 3 and CeF 3 thin films were deposited using the third harmonics (355 nm) of an Nd:YAG laser with ns pulse duration and operating at 10 Hz repetition rate.…”