High performance self-powered solar-blind photodetector based on amorphous MgGa2O4/p-Si heterojunction

Abstract

Self-powered solar-blind photodetectors are extensively implemented in military and industrial applications. Spinel ternary oxide MgGa2O4 with a wide bandgap of 4.92 eV is suitable for solar-blind photodetectors. Optoelectronic integration is a challenging research area, in terms of growing foreign semiconductors on Si substrates. Herein, a solar-blind photodetector based on amorphous MgGa2O4/p-Si heterojunction was fabricated by using RF magnetron sputtering. Under self-powered operation, the device exhibited good performance characteristics, including a high response sensitivity of 11.7 mA/W, a specific detectivity of 7.29 × 1011 Jones, and a fast photoresponse time (τr/τd = 0.200/0.021 s). This work demonstrates that the amorphous MgGa2O4/p-Si heterojunction is a promising approach to realize high-performance self-powered solar-blind photodetectors.