Highly Performing MSM Type Ag/n-titanium Dioxide Nanotubes/p-Si Heterojunction Based Ultraviolet-A Photodetectors

• Published in: SILICON Vol. 16; no. 7; pp. 2815 - 2826
• Main Authors: Nallabala, Nanda Kumar Reddy, Kaleemulla, S., Reddy, M. Ramprasad, El-marghany, Adel, Ravi, N., Sambasivam, Sangaraju, Sekhar, M. Chandra, Rosaiah, P., Kushvaha, Sunil Singh, Kalaivani, V., Shankar, Muthukonda Venkatakrishnan, Reddy, Vasudeva Reddy Minnam
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Dordrecht Springer Netherlands 2024; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Anatase; Chemistry; Chemistry and Materials Science; Electron beams; Environmental Chemistry; Heterojunctions; Inorganic Chemistry; Lasers; Low temperature; Materials Science; Nanotubes; Optical Devices; Optics; Parameters; Photometers; Photonics; Polymer Sciences; Spin coating; Titanium dioxide; Ultraviolet detectors; Wide bandgap semiconductors; X ray photoelectron spectroscopy; X-ray diffraction; Zinc oxide; Ultraviolet photodetectors; Detectivity; Photoresponsivity; External quantum efficiency; Titania nanotubes; Heterojunction
• ISSN: 1876-990X; 1876-9918
• DOI: 10.1007/s12633-024-02877-1

Recently, heterojunction-based ultraviolet (UV) photodetectors (PDs) have found a wide range of applications in day-to-day life. The fabrication of these UV PD devices using high-
k
TiO
2
nanostructures i.e. nanotubes (NTs) at low temperature processing steps in association with cost-effective deposition methods is crucial. In this work, Ag/n-TiO
2
NTs/p-Si heterojunction-based MSM UV PD devices were fabricated using hydrothermal, spin coating and e-beam evaporation methods. The structural, chemical, optical, morphological and elemental composition characteristics of the formed TiO
2
NTs/p-Si stacks were explored by XRD/Raman, XPS, UV–Vis, FESEM and EDS techniques, respectively. XRD and FESEM analysis revealed the formation of anatase phase of TiO
2
NTs with an average diameter of ~ 16.1 nm and length of ~ 50.9 nm. XPS investigation revealed two intense core level BE peaks of Ti2p
3/2
and Ti2p
1/2
. The photodetection parameters of the fabricated MSM UV PD device were systematically checked in dark and UV-A light (320–400 nm) illumination. At 3 V, the fabricated Ag/n-TiO
2
NTs/p-Si device presented superior photosensing properties with a responsivity of 570 mA/W, EQE of 189% and rise/decay times of 120 ms/95 ms. Further, the superior structural and photosensing parameters attained from the fabricated MSM UV PD device may expand its scope to serve as a future cost-effective alternative to other wide bandgap semiconductor (GaN, SiC and ZnO) based heterojunction PD devices.