Achieving Weak Light Response with Plasmonic Nanogold-Decorated Organic Phototransistors

ACS Appl Mater Interfaces. 2018 May 9;10(18):15352-15356. doi: 10.1021/acsami.8b03732. Epub 2018 Apr 26.

Abstract

Weak light response of organic photodetectors has fascinating potentials in fields of modern science and technology. However, their photoresponsivity is hindered by poor photocarrier excitation and transport. Decorating active-layer surface with plasmonic nanometals is considered a viable strategy to address this issue. Here, we demonstrate a plasmonic nanogold decorated organic phototransistor achieving remarkable enhancement of photoresponsivity. Meanwhile, the photoresponsive range is broadened by 4 orders of magnitude. The proposed design is substantiated by a schematic energy level model combined with theoretical simulation analysis, enabling the development of the advanced optoelectronics.

Keywords: nanogold decoration; organic phototransistor; photoresponse; plasmon; weak light.