Pyroelectric Photoconductive Diode for Highly Sensitive and Fast DUV Detection

Area of Science:

• Semiconductor physics
• Photon detection technologies
• Materials science

Background:

• Detecting high-energy photons (deep ultraviolet to X-rays) is crucial across various fields.
• Wide bandgap (WBG) semiconductors show promise for photon detection but face challenges with deep level traps and device engineering.
• Existing WBG detectors often struggle with achieving both high sensitivity and fast response speeds.

Purpose of the Study:

• To propose and demonstrate a novel pyroelectric photoconductive diode (PPD) for enhanced high-energy photon detection.
• To leverage the interface pyroelectric effect coupled with photoconductivity in a tailored semiconductor structure.
• To overcome limitations of existing detectors regarding sensitivity, speed, and device engineering.

Main Methods:

• Fabrication of a tailored polycrystal Ga-rich GaOx (PGR-GaOx) Schottky photodiode.
• Integration of the interface pyroelectric effect with the photoconductive effect within the PPD structure.
• Characterization of the PPD device's performance for deep ultraviolet (DUV) and X-ray detection.

Main Results:

• The PPD device achieved ultrahigh detection performance for DUV and X-ray light.
• Demonstrated responsivity for DUV light up to 10^4 A W^-1 and sensitivity for X-ray up to 10^5 µC Gy_air^-1 cm^-2.
• The interface pyroelectric effect significantly enhanced the device's response speed by 10^5 times.

Conclusions:

• The developed PPD offers a novel design strategy for sensitive and high-speed detectors.
• The study highlights the potential of pyroelectric effects in advancing detector technology.
• The device shows promise for applications in imaging enhancement systems requiring low power consumption and high sensitivity.