Photocurrent generation in Ge nanocrystal/Si systems

J Nanosci Nanotechnol. 2011 Oct;11(10):9227-31. doi: 10.1166/jnn.2011.4285.

Abstract

We report on the generation of photocurrent in the visible and ultraviolet range from planar devices built from the Ge nanocrystals grown on a heavy n-doped Si(001) substrate covered with 5 nm thick thermally grown SiO2. These Ge nanostructures/SiO2/n(+)-Si devices are shown to generate photocurrent with an Incident-Photon-to-electron Conversion Efficiency (IPCE) spectral range depending on the Ge nanocrystals size. The increase of the IPCE value of our devices in the 350-600 nm range correlates well with the absorbance of Ge.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't