High Performance of Nanostructured Cu2O-Based Photodetectors Grown on a Ti/Mo Metallic Substrate

Abstract

In this work, cuprous oxide (Cu2O) thin films were prepared using a simplistic sputtering technique. The films were grown on both traditional fluorine-doped tin oxide (FTO) and Ti-metallic substrates. X-ray diffraction applied for investigation of the crystal structure proved that the Cu2O layer acquires the cubic structure with a (111) main peak at 2θ of 36.46°. The optical absorption and transmission were detected through the utilization of a UV-Vis spectrophotometer, and the optical bandgap for the Cu2O layer was determined to be ~2.15 eV using Tauc’s equation. XPS and scanning electron microscopy were also performed for chemical structure and morphological investigation, respectively. The optoelectronic behaviors for the prepared samples were carried out using a Keithley source meter; the photocurrent density was measured in a range of applied voltage between −1 and 1 volt under the illumination of a xenon lamp with a power density of 100 mWcm−2. External quantum efficiency, sensitivity, responsivity, and detectivity were computed using proprietary models based on the experimental data.