Solution Processable β-Gallium oxide for Application in Solar-Blind UV Detectors

Solar-Blind UV detection systems are not affected by the background radiation noise from the sun, which makes them attractive for applications in environmental monitoring and defense systems. Colloidally grown gallium oxide (Ga 2 O 3 ) nanoparticles are investigated for their application in solar-blind UV detectors. The synthesis temperature is maintained at a growth temperature of 250°C. Long chain organic capping molecules are employed to control size and structure of the nanopartilces and to render them dispersible in a solvent for device fabrication. The bandgap is found to be 4.82eV from the excitonic peak of the absorbance spectrum. These nanoparticles are also highly crystalline as seen from the X-ray diffraction (XRD) measurements with a cyrstallite size of 20nm. The presence of Beta-phase Ga 2 O 3 is established from the different modes seen on the Raman spectrum.