Hydrothermally-Grown TiO2 Thin Film-Based Metal–Semiconductor–Metal UV Photodetector

Abstract

A metal–semiconductor–metal (MSM) ultraviolet photodetector has been fabricated by using hydrothermally-grown TiO2 thin films. Ag paint was used as a contact electrode which showed the good ohmic contact between the metal–semiconductor junctions. The effect of deposition time on the structural, morphological and photodetector properties have been studied. The prepared TiO2 thin films are polycrystalline and show a rutile crystal structure with the preferred orientation along the (110) plane. The MSM UV photodetector was illuminated under a UV lamp with an intensity of 1.8 μW/cm2 and at 5-V bias. The photocurrent of the device increased linearly with the applied voltage. The maximum photocurrent of 3.96 μA was obtained for the film deposited at 5 h and maximum spectral photoresponsivity was 13.29 A/W. The device showed a fast optical switching behavior. The high responsivity and fast photoresponse shows that fabricated TiO2 detectors are good candidates for ultraviolet photodetectors.