Graphene-pyramid textured silicon heterojunction for sensitive near-infrared light photodiode

Abstract

In this study, we report on the fabrication of a near-infrared (NIR) light photodiode, which was constructed by transferring monolayer graphene films onto pyramid textured silicon etched by an aqueous solution method. It is found that the photodiode exhibits an obvious rectification characteristic, with a rectification ratio as high as 1.5 × 104. What is more, the as-fabricated graphene-pyramid textured silicon Schottky photodiode could function as an efficient light photodetector that was highly sensitive to NIR irradiation with a high on/off ratio, and good reproducibility. In addition, such an NIR photodiode is able to monitor a fast-switching optical signal with a frequency as high as 2000 Hz. The rise/fall times were estimated to be 96/160 µs, respectively, which are comparable to or even higher than other Si nanostructure-based devices. The generality of the above results implies that the present graphene-pyramid textured silicon Schottky photodiode would have possible potential for future optoelectronic device applications.