Solar-blind UV photodetectors for large area applications

Author

Caputo, Domenico ; de Cesare, Giampiero ; Irrera, Fernanda ; Palma, Fabrizio

Author_Institution

Dipartimento di Ingegneria Elettronica, Rome Univ., Italy

Volume

43

Issue

9

fYear

1996

fDate

9/1/1996 12:00:00 AM

Firstpage

1351

Lastpage

1356

Abstract

In this paper, we extensively investigate a family of solar-blind thin-film photodetectors optimized for the ultraviolet spectrum (UV). The devices are p-i-n structures made of hydrogenated amorphous silicon (a-Si:H) and silicon carbide (a-SiC:H) on a glass substrate. At room temperature the photodetectors exhibit values of quantum efficiency of 20% at λ=187 nm, and are transparent to visible radiation. The excellent sensitivity of the device at short wavelengths is explained within the framework of a diffusive model of transport, taking into account the effects of hot carrier relaxation. The rejection of visible light is obtained with an appropriate design of the energy gap and intrinsic layer thickness. The great advantage of this technology lies in the possibility to produce low-cost, large-area arrays of photodetectors

Keywords

absorption coefficients; arrays; carrier lifetime; elemental semiconductors; hot carriers; hydrogen; p-i-n photodiodes; semiconductor thin films; silicon; silicon compounds; ultraviolet detectors; 180 to 300 nm; 187 nm; 20 percent; Si:H-SiC:H; absorption coefficients; diffusive transport model; electron diffusion length; energy gap design; glass substrate; hot carrier relaxation; hydrogenated amorphous Si; intrinsic layer thickness; large area applications; large-area array; p-i-n structures; quantum efficiency; room temperature; sensitivity; solar-blind UV photodetectors; thin-film photodetectors; visible light rejection; visible radiation transparency; Amorphous silicon; Glass; Hot carriers; PIN photodiodes; Photodetectors; Silicon carbide; Substrates; Temperature sensors; Transistors;

fLanguage

English

Journal_Title

Electron Devices, IEEE Transactions on

Publisher

ieee

ISSN

0018-9383

Type

jour

DOI

10.1109/16.535318

Filename

535318