Organic-assisted band engineering enables high-performance self-powered solar-blind 4H-SiC photodetectors

Traditional metal-semiconductor-metal photodetectors (MSM) based on 4H SiC typically have relatively low zero-bias photo-response due to insufficient internal electric fields. To address this issue, we integrated a thermally evaporated p-type organic semiconductor (C8-BTBT) onto an n-type 4H-SiC MSM device to form a vertical p-n heterojunction. Benefiting from a favorable Type-II band alignment and the substantial built-in potential, the device efficiently separates photo-generated carriers without external power. Consequently, the detector exhibits superior self-powered performance under UV illumination, achieving a high responsivity of 130 mA/W and a detectivity of 6.4 × 10¹² Jones. Owing to the simple and low-temperature fabrication process, the device architecture can be compatible with large-area and scalable array integration. Furthermore, a photodetector array was constructed, demonstrating imaging capabilities under solar-blind conditions. This work offers an effective strategy to upgrade traditional MSM detectors into self-powered systems for advanced low-power optoelectronics.