Self-powered p-NiO/n-ZnO heterojunction ultraviolet photodetectors fabricated on plastic substrates

Abstract

A self-powered ultraviolet (UV) photodetector (PD) based on p-NiO and n-ZnO was fabricated using low-temperature sputtering technique on indium doped tin oxide (ITO) coated plastic polyethylene terephthalate (PET) substrates. The <i>p-n</i> heterojunction showed very fast temporal photoresponse with excellent quantum efficiency of over 63% under UV illumination at an applied reverse bias of 1.2 V. The engineered ultrathin Ti/Au top metal contacts and UV transparent PET/ITO substrates allowed the PDs to be illuminated through either front or back side. Morphology, structural, chemical and optical properties of sputtered NiO and ZnO films were also investigated.