Zero-Power-Consumption Solar-Blind Photodetector Based on β-Ga2O3/NSTO Heterojunction

A solar-blind photodetector based on β-Ga2O3/NSTO (NSTO = Nb:SrTiO3) heterojunctions were fabricated for the first time, and its photoelectric properties were investigated. The device presents a typical positive rectification in the dark, while under 254 nm UV light illumination, it shows a negative rectification, which might be caused by the generation of photoinduced electron-hole pairs in the β-Ga2O3 film layer. With zero bias, that is, zero power consumption, the photodetector shows a fast photoresponse time (decay time τd = 0.07 s) and the ratio Iphoto/Idark ≈ 20 under 254 nm light illumination with a light intensity of 45 μW/cm2. Such behaviors are attributed to the separation of photogenerated electron-hole pairs driven by the built-in electric field in the depletion region of β-Ga2O3 and the NSTO interface, and the subsequent transport toward corresponding electrodes. The photocurrent increases linearly with increasing the light intensity and applied bias, while the response time decreases with the increase of the light intensity. Under -10 V bias and 45 μW/cm2 of 254 nm light illumination, the photodetector exhibits a responsivity Rλ of 43.31 A/W and an external quantum efficiency of 2.1 × 104 %. The photo-to-electric conversion mechanism in the β-Ga2O3/NSTO heterojunction photodetector is explained in detail by energy band diagrams. The results strongly suggest that a photodetector based on β-Ga2O3 thin-film heterojunction structure can be practically used to detect weak solar-blind signals because of its high photoconductive gain.