Synthesis of ternary oxide Zn₂GeO₄ nanowire networks and their deep ultraviolet detection properties

Ternary oxide Zn₂GeO₄ with a wide bandgap of 4.84 eV, as a candidate for fourth generation semiconductors, has attracted a great deal of attention for deep ultraviolet (DUV) photodetector applications, because it is expected to be blind to the UV-A/B band (290-400 nm) and only responsive to the UV-C band (200-290 nm). Here, we report on the synthesis of Zn₂GeO₄ nanowire (NW) networks by lower pressure chemical vapor deposition and investigate their corresponding DUV detection properties. We find that pure Zn₂GeO₄ NWs could be obtained at a growth pressure of 1 kPa. The DUV detection tests reveal that growth pressure exerts a significant effect on DUV detection performance. The Zn₂GeO₄ NW networks produced under 1 kPa show an excellent solar-blind photoresponsivity with fast rise and decay times (t _rise ≈ 0.17 s and t _decay ≈ 0.14 s).