Sensitive and Robust Ultraviolet Photodetector Array Based on Self-Assembled Graphene/C60 Hybrid Films

ACS Appl Mater Interfaces. 2018 Nov 7;10(44):38326-38333. doi: 10.1021/acsami.8b11596. Epub 2018 Sep 20.

Abstract

Graphene has been widely investigated for use in high-performance photodetectors due to its broad absorption band and high carrier mobility. While exhibiting remarkably strong absorption in the ultraviolet range, the fabrication of a large-scale integrable, graphene-based ultraviolet photodetector with long-term stability has proven to be a challenge. Here, using graphene as a template for C60 assembly, we synthesized a large-scale all-carbon hybrid film with inherently strong and tunable UV aborption. Efficient exciton dissociation at the heterointerface and enhanced optical absorption enables extremely high photoconductive gain, resulting in UV photoresponsivity of ∼107 A/W. Interestingly, due to the electron-hole recombination process at the heterointerface, the response time can be modulated by the gate voltage. More importantly, the use of all-carbon hybrid materials ensures robust operation and further allows the demonstration of an exemplary 5 × 5 (2-dimensional) photodetector array. The devices exhibit negligible degradation in figures of merit even after 2 month of operation, indicating excellent environmental robustness. The combination of high responsivity, reliability, and scalable processability makes this new all-carbon film a promising candidate for future integrable optoelectronics.

Keywords: C60; charge transfer; graphene; self-assembled; ultraviolet photodetector.