Fabrication and properties of ultraviolet photo-detectors based on SiC nanowires

A new type of ultraviolet photo-detectors (UVPDs) based on a bundle of highly aligned SiC nanowires was fabricated and the photo-electric properties of the UVPDs including I-V characteristics and time response were studied in this work. SiC nanowires were prepared by pyrolysis of a polymer precursor with ferrocene as the catalyst by a CVD route. The diameters of SiC nanowires varied from 100 to 200 nm while they were some centimeters long and the SiC nanowires were with zinc blended cubic form (beta-SiC) tested by X-ray diffraction. A bundle of nanowires was fixed onto two legs' base by conductive silver paste to form the UVPDs. The electrical measurement of the device showed a significant increase of current when the device was exposed to 254 nm UV light, and the rising time of the device is very short, but the falling time is relatively long. Our results show that the UVPDs based on SiC nanowires have excellent electrical and optical properties which can be potentially applied.