Flexible a-Si:H Position-Sensitive Detectors

Flexible and large area (5 mm ×80 mm with an active length of 70 mm) position-sensitive detectors (PSDs) deposited onto polymeric substrates (polyimide-Kapton VN) have been fabricated. The optimized structure presented is based on a heterojunction of amorphous silicon (a-Si:H)/ZnO:Al. The sensors were characterized by spectral response, photocurrent dependence as a function of light intensity, and position detection measurements. The set of data obtained on one-dimensional PSDs based on the heterojunction show excellent performances with a maximum spectral response of 0.12 A/W at 500 nm and a nonlinearity of ±10% over 70-mm length. The produced sensors present a nonlinearity higher than those ones produced on glass substrates, due to the different thermal coefficients exhibited by the polymer and the a-Si:H film. In order to prove this behavior, it was measured the defect density obtained by the constant photocurrent method on a-Si:H thin films deposited on polymeric substrates and bent with different radii of curvature.