Ultrasensitive photodetectors exploiting electrostatic trapping and percolation transport

Yingjie Zhang, Daniel J. Hellebusch, Noah D. Bronstein, Changhyun Ko, D. Frank Ogletree, Miquel Salmeron () and A. Paul Alivisatos ()
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Yingjie Zhang: Applied Science and Technology Graduate Program, University of California
Daniel J. Hellebusch: Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, 1 Cyclotron Road, Berkeley, California 94720, USA
Noah D. Bronstein: Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, 1 Cyclotron Road, Berkeley, California 94720, USA
Changhyun Ko: University of California
D. Frank Ogletree: The Molecular Foundry, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
Miquel Salmeron: Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, 1 Cyclotron Road, Berkeley, California 94720, USA
A. Paul Alivisatos: Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, 1 Cyclotron Road, Berkeley, California 94720, USA

Nature Communications, 2016, vol. 7, issue 1, 1-9

Abstract: Abstract The sensitivity of semiconductor photodetectors is limited by photocarrier recombination during the carrier transport process. We developed a new photoactive material that reduces recombination by physically separating hole and electron charge carriers. This material has a specific detectivity (the ability to detect small signals) of 5 × 1017 Jones, the highest reported in visible and infrared detectors at room temperature, and 4–5 orders of magnitude higher than that of commercial single-crystal silicon detectors. The material was fabricated by sintering chloride-capped CdTe nanocrystals into polycrystalline films, where Cl selectively segregates into grain boundaries acting as n-type dopants. Photogenerated electrons concentrate in and percolate along the grain boundaries—a network of energy valleys, while holes are confined in the grain interiors. This electrostatic field-assisted carrier separation and percolation mechanism enables an unprecedented photoconductive gain of 1010 e− per photon, and allows for effective control of the device response speed by active carrier quenching.

Date: 2016
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DOI: 10.1038/ncomms11924

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