Tellurium/Silicon based p-n photodiode for near infrared heterostructure photodetector applications

Abstract

Near-Infrared (NIR) self-powered photodetectors have emerged as a significant innovation in sensor technology due to their high penetration depth and near-infrared absorption, which allows for various applications such as medical diagnostics, remote sensing, and security systems. A tellurium (Te) has gained attention as a promising NIR absorption material due to its complementary metal-oxide semiconductor (CMOS) compatibility, a tunable narrow bandgap and high carrier mobility, making it suitable for highly sensitive and fast NIR photodetector applications. In this study, we demonstrate a NIR photodetector based on a robust Te/Si heterojunction, employing a radio-frequency (RF) sputtered Te thin film and subsequent annealing process. Thanks to heterojunction constructed by Te and Si, the photo-carriers are effectively segregated. As, a result, the NIR photodetector showed a high responsivity of 0.62 A/W, an excellent specific detectivity up to 1.04 x 1011 Jones under NIR illumination. The experimental results indicate that the Te/Si heterojunction-based photodetector is give a potential as a future NIR photodetector for advanced optoelectronic applications.