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Published on: November 5, 2014
System design of large-area vertical photothermoelectric detectors based on carbon nanotube forests with MXene
Jiaqi Wang1, Zhemiao Xie1, Jiayu Alexander Liu1
1Advanced Micro-/Nano- Devices Lab, Department of Systems Design Engineering, University of Waterloo 200 University Ave West Waterloo Ontario N2L 3G1 Canada jyeow@uwaterloo.ca +1-519-888-4567 ext. 32152.
Abstract:
Photothermoelectric (PTE) detectors that combine photothermal and thermoelectric conversion have emerged in recent years. They can overcome bandgap limitations and achieve effective infrared detection. However, the development of PTE detectors and the related system design are in the early phases. Herein, we present vertical PTE detectors utilizing the active layer of carbon nanotube forests with MXenes acting as top electrodes. The detector demonstrates its capacity for sensitive infrared detection and rapid infrared response. We also investigated the relationship between photoresponse and different MXene electrode types as well as their thickness, which guides the PTE detector configuration design. Furthermore, we packed the PTE detectors with a polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE, Teflon) cavity. The photoresponse is improved and the degradation is significantly delayed. We also applied this PTE detector system for non-destructive tracking (NDT) applications, where the photovoltage mapping pattern proves the viability of the imaging track. This work paves the way toward infrared energy harvesters and customized industrial NDT measurement.
