High Responsivity Ultraviolet Photoconductors Based on Epitaxial ZnO Thin Films

Abstract

In this paper, ultraviolet (UV) detection properties of epitaxial ZnO films grown on sapphire substrates with radio-frequency magnetron sputtering is reported. The responsivity (R) of the ZnO photoconductors measured at 325 nm wavelength shows a strong dependence on the incident power (P), i.e., R µ P-k (k = 0.7). A responsivity of 3500 A/W (or a gain of 6000) is obtained at the optical power density of 10-7 W/cm2, and the value decreases to 1 A/W at 10-2 W/cm2. The ultra-high responsivity at the low power regime suggests a long lifetime (order of 10 ms) of carriers. The enhanced carrier lifetime is explained by the preferential capture of holes at the recombination centers that exist in the depletion region around grain boundaries and film surface, and the subsequent separation of photogenerated carriers. The strong dependence of the responsivity on the incident power is attributed to the modulation of space charge region width by the photogenerated holes and the resulting change in carrier lifetime.