Broadband Ultraviolet Self-Powered Photodetector Constructed on Exfoliated β-Ga2O3/CuI Core-Shell Microwire Heterojunction with Superior Reliability

A heterojunction is an essential strategy for multispectral energy-conservation photodetection for its ability to separate photogenerated electron-hole pairs and tune the absorption edge by selecting semiconductors with appropriate bandgaps. A broadband ultraviolet (200-410 nm) self-powered photodetector is constructed on the exfoliated beta-Ga2O3/CuI core-shell microwire heterostructure. Benefiting from the photovoltaic and photoconductive effects, our device performs an excellent ultraviolet (UV) discriminability with a UVC/visible rejection ratio (R-225/R-600) of 8.8 x 10(3) and a UVA/visible rejection ratio (R-400/ R-600) of 2.7 x 10(2), and a self-powered photodetection with a responsivity of 8.46 mA/W, a detectivity of 7.75 x 10(11) Jones, an on/off switching ratio of 4.0 x 10(3), and a raise/decay speed of 97.8/28.9 ms under UVC light. Even without encapsulation, the photodetector keeps a superior stability over ten months. The intrinsically physical insights of the device behaviors are investigated via energy band diagrams, and the charge carrier transfer characteristics of the beta-Ga2O3/CuI interface are predicted by first principle calculation.

Automated summary

The paper presents a broadband ultraviolet self-powered photodetector based on a beta-Ga2O3/CuI heterostructure, demonstrating excellent performance under UVC light and remarkable stability. Insights into the intrinsic physical behaviors of the device are investigated through energy band diagrams and first principle calculations.