Single walled carbon nanotube/Si heterojunctions for high responsivity photodetectors

Single walled carbon nanotube/n-Si (SWCNT/n-Si) hetero-junctions have been obtained by depositing SWCNT ultra-thin films on the surface of an n-Si substrate by dry transfer method. The as obtained junctions are photo sensitive in the measured wavelength range (300-1000 nm) and show zero bias responsivity and detectivity values of the order of 1 A W^-1 and 10¹⁴ Jones respectively, which are higher than those previously observed in carbon based devices. Moreover, under on-off light excitation, the junctions show response speed as fast as 1 μs or better and noise equivalent powers comparable to commercial Si photomultipliers. Current-voltage measurements in dark and under illumination suggest that the devices consist of Schottky and semiconductor/semiconductor junctions both contributing to the fast and high responses observed.