Self-powered cadmium chalcogenide photodetectors by pressurized air blast spraying

Abstract

Self-powered photodetectors (SPDs) have great application potential in next-generation instruments that operate wirelessly and independently. Hence, there is a strong market demand for more efficient, easier, cheaper, and faster SPDs fabrication methods and tools. Specially, spray pyrolysis (SS) is an extensively used technique because of its simplicity, cost-effectiveness, and high deposition rate. Furthermore, in a SS system, parameters such as the chamber temperature, air pressure, substrate temperature, and nozzle-substrate distance must be precisely selected since they determine the deposited film quality. Otherwise, pressurized air blast spraying is a standard atomization method implemented in economical and multi-use micro airbrush guns that can be used in conjunction with a substrate heater to complete the SS process. In this study, a fabrication procedure, complemented with a micro airbrush gun as an easy, inexpensive, and efficient tool for film deposition was developed and implemented to obtain a single and a parallel connection of four SPDs based on cadmium chalcogenides (CC). A comprehensive analysis of the optical and electrical properties of the obtained devices confirms the functionality of the implemented fabrication procedure. All fabricated SPDs devices show responsivity and specific detectivity in the visible spectrum demonstrating their capability for self-powered photodetection applications.