An inorganic-blended p-type semiconductor with robust electrical and mechanical properties

Area of Science:

• Materials Science
• Solid-State Physics
• Semiconductor Technology

Background:

• Inorganic semiconductors often exhibit poor p-type conductivity due to limited hole availability and valence band structure.
• This deficiency impedes the development of complementary circuits and advanced electronic devices.

Purpose of the Study:

• To introduce an inorganic blending strategy to enhance p-type conductivity in semiconductor materials.
• To develop a novel inorganic semiconductor compound, tellurium-selenium-oxygen (TeSeO), with improved hole-transporting characteristics.

Main Methods:

• A rational combination of intrinsic p-type semimetal, semiconductor, and wide-bandgap semiconductor components was used to create the TeSeO system.
• Wafer-scale ultrathin TeSeO films were deposited at room temperature.
• Nanosphere lithography was employed to fabricate nanopatterned honeycomb structures.

Main Results:

• The TeSeO system demonstrated tunable bandgaps from 0.7 to 2.2 eV.
• Ultrathin TeSeO films exhibited high hole field-effect mobility (48.5 cm²/Vs) and robust hole transport.
• Nanopatterned TeSeO photodetectors showed high responsivity (603 A/W), ultrafast response (5 μs), and mechanical flexibility.

Conclusions:

• The developed p-type TeSeO material offers a promising solution for next-generation semiconductor applications.
• Its adaptability, scalability, and reliability address limitations of current semiconductor technologies.
• TeSeO facilitates the creation of advanced optoelectronic devices, including flexible broadband photodetectors.