High-Performance and Stable Sb₂S₃ Thin-Film Photodetectors for Potential Application in Visible Light Communication

Abstract

Photodetectors (PDs) are critical parts of visible light communication (VLC) systems for achieving efficient photoelectronic conversion and high-fidelity transmission of signals. Antimony sulfide (Sb2S3) as a nontoxic, high optical absorption coefficient, and low-cost semiconductor becomes a promising candidate for applications in VLC systems. Particularly, Sb2S3 PDs were verified to have significantly weak light detection ability in the visible region. However, the response speed of Sb2S3 PDs with existing device structures is still relatively slow. Herein, through optimizing the device structure for the p–i–n type PDs, a p-type Sb2Se3 hole transport layer (HTL) is designed to enhance the built-in electric field and to accelerate the migration of photogenerated carriers for the high responsivity and fast response speed. The optimal thickness of the structure is obtained through the simulation of SCAPS-1D software, and the optimized devices show high-performance parameters, including a responsivity of 0.34 A W–1, a specific detectivity (D * ) of 2.20 × 1012 Jones, the −3 dB bandwidth of 440 kHz, high stability, and the value of the Sb2S3 PDs can reach 60% in the range of 360–600 nm, which indicates that the device is very suitable for working in the visible light band. In addition, the resulting Sb2S3 PD is successfully integrated into VLC systems by designing a matched light detection circuit. The results suggest that the Sb2S3 PDs are expected to provide an alternative to future VLC system applications.

Inorganic Thin-Film Solar Cells: Challenges at the Terawatt-Scale

“…This is a useful method in thin film preparation, resulting in a remarkable quality and homogeneity of the films compared to those observed with other methods such as vapor deposition (Table 6, entry 2) and solution processing (Table 6, entries 1, 3-6). To improve the device efficiency, the synthesis of high-quality absorber materials is very important, while the interfacial engineering in the complete device determines whether the high-quality light absorption film can transfer to final energy conversion efficiency [122]. In the case of solution-processed methods to generate a better energy alignment between TiO 2 and Sb 2 (S 1−x Se x ) 3 , a doped CdS interlayer was added (Table 6, entries 5, 6), resulting in an asymmetric structure.…”

Leveraging Intermolecular Charge Transfer for High-Speed Optical Wireless Communication

“…As human society’s demand for communication systems and data transmission continuously grows, the prevailing broadband radiofrequency (RF)/microwave wireless technology encounters challenges in keeping pace with the evolving landscape, mainly due to spectrum congestion and limited bandwidth. − Nonetheless, the emergence of optical wireless communication (OWC) technology, offering secure, license-free bandwidth across the entire spectrum from ultraviolet (UV) to near-infrared (NIR), presents fresh opportunities for unobstructed growth in the realm of high-speed, low-latency data transmission. − Luminescent materials with short lifetimes play an important role in the OWC system, as they can serve as color converters that facilitate white-light generation, wavelength-division multiplexing/demultiplexing, , large-area wide-field-of-view light transmission/collection, optical beam tracking, etc., in various forms such as films, fibers, and liquid . However, conventional color-converting materials utilized for OWCs have primarily revolved around intricate organic, ceramic, and perovskite compositions.…”