Advanced n-V₂O₅/p-Si photodetector for high-efficiency visible and infrared detection

Abstract

In this study, the potential of Vanadium pentoxide (V₂O₅), a candidate from Transition metal oxide family, has been harnessed for devising Photodetector through RF magnetron sputtering, for cutting-edge optoelecteonic applications. The thin film of n-type V₂O₅ was prepared on p-Si wafer substrare, operating within a high vacuum environment at 10⁻⁴ Pa. It has been resulted in the X-ray diffraction analysis that highly crystalline orthorhombic crystal arrangement has formed with the crystallite size of 9.26 nm. Encouragingly, it has been noted that the Raman analysis is also consistent with the X-ray analysis to provide structural information of the prepared film. Impressively, the prepared film has maintained a high optical transparency across the IR to Visible spectrum, also it has been deduced from the optical analysis marking the bandgap of 2.45 eV. From the field emission scanning electron micrograph, it has been prosulated uniform formation of the film flake like structure. The analysis from energy dispersive spectroscopy suggested uniform stoichiometric arrangement of Vanadium and Oxygen through the film. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy analysis enabled us to delve into the chemical composition and surface characteristics, shedding light on their electronic structure. Core to our investigation, we assessed the photodetection capabilities of these n-V₂O₅/p-Si device across different spectral ranges, including Blue, Infrared (IR), and Visible. We evaluated their photodetector performance through current-voltage (IV) characteristics under varying bias voltages, and wavelengths. These analyses unveiled remarkable responsivity of 6.6 A/W, detectivity of 1.2 × 10¹² Jones, external quantum efficiency of 1498 %, sensitivity of 2962 A/W, and rise time and fall time of 60 ms and 80 ms respectively for the visible LED, also underscoring the similar potential of device for blue and IR radiation, which complement the usage of V₂O₅ for optoelectronic applications.