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Efficient photovoltaic effect in graphene/h-BN/silicon heterostructure self-powered photodetector

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Abstract

Graphene (Gr)/Si-based optoelectronic devices have attracted a lot of academic attention due to the simpler fabrication processes, low costs, and higher performance of their two-dimensional (2D)/three-dimensional (3D) hybrid interfaces in Schottky junction that promotes electron-hole separation. However, due to the built-in potential of Gr/Si as a photodetector, the Iph /Idark ratio is often hindered near zero-bias at relatively low illumination intensity. This is a major drawback in self-powered photodetectors. In this study, we have demonstrated a self-powered van der Waals heterostructure photodetector in the visible range using a Gr/hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN)/Si structure and clarified that the thin h-BN insertion can engineer asymmetric carrier transport and avoid interlayer coupling at the interface. The dark current was able to be suppressed by inserting an h-BN insulator layer, while maintaining the photocurrent with minimal decrease at near zero-bias. As a result, the normalized photocurrent-to-dark ratio (NPDR) is improved more than 104 times. Also, both Iph/Idark ratio and detectivity, increase by more than 104 times at −0.03 V drain voltage. The proposed Gr/h-BN/Si heterostructure is able to contribute to the introduction of next-generation photodetectors and photovoltaic devices based on graphene or silicon.

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Acknowledgments

This work was supported by the National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF) grant funded by the Korea government (MSIT) (No. NRF-2018R1A2B2008069), R&D program of MOTIE/KEIT (No. 10064078), and Multi-Ministry Collaborative R&D Program through the National Research Foundation of Korea, funded by KNPA, MSIT, MOTIE, ME, and NFA (No. 2017M3D9A1073539). This work was supported under the framework of international cooperation program managed by the National Research Foundation of Korea (No. 2018K2A9A2A06017491). Y. H. L. acknowledges this work was supported from the Institute for Basic Science (No. IBS-R011-D1).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Sungkyunkwan University, Suwon, 16419, Republic of Korea

    Ui Yeon Won, Boo Heung Lee, Young Rae Kim, Won Tae Kang, Ilmin Lee, Ji Eun Kim & Woo Jong Yu

  2. Center for Integrated Nanostructure Physics, Institute for Basic Science (IBS), Suwon, 16419, Republic of Korea

    Young Rae Kim, Won Tae Kang & Young Hee Lee

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  1. Ui Yeon Won
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Correspondence to Woo Jong Yu.

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Won, U.Y., Lee, B.H., Kim, Y.R. et al. Efficient photovoltaic effect in graphene/h-BN/silicon heterostructure self-powered photodetector. Nano Res. 14, 1967–1972 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12274-020-2866-x

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