Self-Powered Photodetector Based on a Ag Nanoparticle-Decorated Gd2O3 Nanorod

Abstract

A self-powered photodetector based on a silver nanoparticle (Ag NP)-decorated gadolinium oxide nanorod (Gd2O3 NR) has been deposited using the glancing angle deposition (GLAD) technique. Field emission gun scanning electron microscopy (FEG-SEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) analyses confirm the successful growth of a Ag NP-decorated Gd2O3 NR with polycrystalline nature. UV-vis spectroscopy reveals the presence of the Ag NP and Gd2O3 NR with photon absorption in visible and UV regions. The electrical analysis was studied for the voltage range of −5 to 5 V. The device demonstrated self-powered characteristics with a significantly low dark current of 0.73 nA. In addition, the device also displayed a stable switching response with a rise/fall time of 0.18/0.17 s at 0 V. Moreover, the device obtained good responsivity (11.8 mA/W) with a high detectivity of 7.63 × 1011 Jones and a low noise equivalent power of 3.67 × 10-12 W at 0 V.