Surface Engineering of Quantum Dots for Remarkably High Detectivity Photodetectors

J Phys Chem Lett. 2018 Jun 21;9(12):3285-3294. doi: 10.1021/acs.jpclett.8b01255. Epub 2018 Jun 5.

Abstract

Ternary alloyed CdSe xTe1- x colloidal QDs trap-passivated by iodide-based ligands (TBAI) are developed as building blocks for UV-NIR photodetectors. Both the few surface traps and high loading of QDs are obtained by in situ ligand exchange with TBAI. The device is sensitive to a broad wavelength range covering the UV-NIR region (300-850 nm), showing an excellent photoresponsivity of 53 mA/W, a fast response time of ≪0.02s, and remarkably high detectivity values of 8 × 1013 Jones at 450 nm and 1 × 1013 Jones at 800 nm without an external bias voltage. Such performance is superior to what has been reported earlier for QD-based photodetectors. The photodetector exhibits excellent stability, keeping 98% of photoelectric responsivity after 2 months of illumination in air even without encapsulation. In addition, the semitransparent device is successfully fabricated using a Ag nanowires/polyimide transparent substrate. Such self-powered photodetectors with fast response speed and a stable, broad-band response are expected to function under a broad range of environmental conditions.