High-Performance NiO/TiO₂/ZnO Photovoltaic UV Detector

The ultraviolet (UV) photodetector has found many applications, ranging from optical communication to environmental monitoring. There has been much research interest in the development of metal oxide-based UV photodetectors. In this work, a nano-interlayer was introduced in a metal oxide-based heterojunction UV photodetector to enhance the rectification characteristics and therefore the device performance. The device, which consists of nickel oxide (NiO) and zinc oxide (ZnO) sandwiching an ultrathin dielectric layer of titanium dioxide (TiO₂), was prepared by radio frequency magnetron sputtering (RFMS). After annealing, the NiO/TiO₂/ZnO UV photodetector exhibited a rectification ratio of 10⁴ under UV irradiation of 365 nm at zero bias. The device also demonstrated a high responsivity of 291 A/W and a detectivity of 6.9 × 10¹¹ Jones at +2 V bias. Such a device structure provides a promising future for metal oxide-based heterojunction UV photodetectors in a wide range of applications.