Visible Light Communication System Using an Organic Bulk Heterojunction Photodetector

A visible light communication (VLC) system using an organic bulk heterojunction photodetector (OPD) is presented. The system has been successfully proven indoors with an audio signal. The emitter consists of three commercial high-power white LEDs connected in parallel. The receiver is based on an organic photodetector having as active layer a blend of poly(3-hexylthiophene) (P3HT) and phenyl C61-butyric acid methyl ester (PCBM). The OPD is opto-electrically characterized, showing a responsivity of 0.18 A/W and a modulation response of 790 kHz at -6 V.This work has been supported by Comunidad Autónoma de Madrid under project S2009/ESP-1781.Publicad

Photo-FETs: phototransistors enabled by 2D and 0D nanomaterials

The large diversity of applications in our daily lives that rely on photodetection technology requires photodetectors with distinct properties. The choice of an adequate photodetecting system depends on its application, where aspects such as spectral selectivity, speed, and sensitivity play a critical role. High-sensitivity photodetection covering a large spectral range from the UV to IR is dominated by photodiodes. To overcome existing limitations in sensitivity and cost of state-of-the-art systems, new device architectures and material systems are needed with low-cost fabrication and high performance. Low-dimensional nanomaterials (0D, 1D, 2D) are promising candidates with many unique electrical and optical properties and additional functionalities such as flexibility and transparency. In this Perspective, the physical mechanism of photo-FETs (field-effect transistors) is described and recent advances in the field of low-dimensional photo-FETs and hybrids thereof are discussed. Several requirements for the channel material are addressed in view of the photon absorption and carrier transport process, and a fundamental trade-off between them is pointed out for single-material-based devices. We further clarify how hybrid devices, consisting of an ultrathin channel sensitized with strongly absorbing semiconductors, can circumvent these limitations and lead to a new generation of highly sensitive photodetectors. Recent advances in the development of sensitized low-dimensional photo-FETs are discussed, and several promising future directions for their application in high-sensitivity photodetection are proposed.Peer ReviewedPostprint (author's final draft

Ternary organic photodetectors based on pseudo–binaries nonfullerene–based acceptors

The addition of a third component to a donor:acceptor blend is a powerful tool to enhance the power conversion efficiency of organic solar cells. Featuring a similar operating mechanism, organic photodetectors are also expected to benefit from this approach. Here, we fabricated ternary organic photodetectors, based on a polymer donor and two nonfullerene acceptors, resulting in a low dark current of 0.42 nA cm−2 at −2 V and a broadband specific detectivity of 1012 Jones. We found that exciton recombination in the binary blend is reduced in ternary devices due to the formation of a pseudo-binary microstructure with mixed donor–acceptor phases. With this approach a wide range of intermediate open-circuit voltages is accessible, without sacrificing light-to-current conversion. This results in ternary organic photodetector (TOPD) with improved Responsivity values in the near-infrared. Moreover, morphology analyses reveal that TOPD devices showed improved microstructure ordering and consequentially higher charge carrier mobilities compared to the reference devices

Self-Powered Broadband Photodetector Based on MoS2/Sb2Te3 Heterojunctions: A promising approach for highly sensitive detection

Topological insulators have shown great potential for future optoelectronic technology due to their extraordinary optical and electrical properties. Photodetectors, as one of the most widely used optoelectronic devices, are crucial for sensing, imaging, communication, and optical computing systems to convert optical signals to electrical signals. Here we experimentally show a novel combination of topological insulators (TIs) and transition metal chalcogenides (TMDs) based self-powered photodetectors with ultra-low dark current and high sensitivity. The photodetector formed by a MoS2/Sb2Te3 heterogeneous junction exhibits a low dark current of 2.4 pA at zero bias and 1.2 nA at 1V. It shows a high photoresponsivity of > 150 mA W-1 at zero bias and rectification of 3 times at an externally applied bias voltage of 1V. The excellent performance of the proposed photodetector with its innovative material combination of TMDs and TIs paves the way for the development of novel high-performance optoelectronic devices. The TIs/TMDs transfer used to form the heterojunction is simple to incorporate into on-chip waveguide systems, enabling future applications on highly integrated photonic circuits.Comment: 8 Pages, 3 figure

Graphene Transistor Based Nanoelectronic and Nanophotonic Applications.

Over the past few decades, electronics and photonics have made significant impacts on every aspect of our daily life. Importantly, as the technology advancing and moving forward, the development of these devices not only relies on deeper fundamental understanding but also requires novel materials with unique properties as well as new device architecture to achieve higher performance with more diverse functionalities. In this regards, low dimensional materials inherently possess properties that are conceptually different from those of bulk materials in most aspects. The capability to tailor these nanomaterials as well as their unique properties is essential to achieve unconventional devices with revolutionary impacts. In this dissertation work, our aim is to develop novel nanoelectronics and nanophotonics by exploiting the extraordinary characteristics of purely two-dimensional (2D) monolayer graphene and its heterostructures. Firstly, we design and propose the dual-gate graphene ambipolar transistor that can operate as either common mode or differential mode amplifier by properly tuning the gate biases. Our device can also achieve high noise rejection amplification with common mode rejection ration (CMRR) as high as 80 dB, which is comparable to a commercial operational amplifier (op-amp). Secondly, we demonstrate the hyperbolic metamaterials (HMMs) by using precisely controlled periodic graphene-dielectric multilayer nanostructures to investigate the optical topological transition from elliptical to hyperbolic dispersion in mid-infrared regime. Thirdly, we propose the graphene-SOI heterojunction broadband photodetector design to improve the device on-off operation speed, strengthen the photo-gating effect, as well as minimize the dark current. We further fabricate the single pixels into 32 x 32 matrix arrangement to demonstrate the proof-of-concept image array readout, opening up the development of graphene-based ultra-broadband image sensor array applications. Lastly, we propose the all-graphene transparent photodetector design for light-field imaging and demonstrate the proof-of-concept one-dimensional (1D) ranging by using two stacked single-pixel transparent photodetectors. The results should lay the stepping stones and foundation for the new generation of graphene-based light-field photodetectors and image sensors.PHDElectrical EngineeringUniversity of Michigan, Horace H. Rackham School of Graduate Studieshttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/135842/1/chehung_1.pd

Colloidal quantum dot (CQD) based mid-wavelength infrared optoelectronics

Colloidal quantum dot (CQD) photodetectors are a rapidly emerging technology with a potential to significantly impact today’s infrared sensing and imaging technologies. To date, CQD photodetector research is primarily focused on lead-chalcogenide semiconductor CQDs which have spectral response fundamentally limited by the bulk bandgap of the constituent material, confining their applications to near-infrared (NIR, 0.7-1.0 um) and short-wavelength infrared (SWIR, 1-2.5 um) spectral regions. The overall goal of this dissertation is to investigate a new generation of CQD materials and devices that advances the current CQD photodetector research toward the technologically important thermal infrared region of 3-5 ?m, known as mid-wavelength infrared (MWIR). In this dissertation, electronic and optoelectronic characteristics of Ag2Se CQD based devices are analyzed by different device architectures with detailed analysis of detector performance parameters. The first part of the dissertation includes the report on the fabrication of solution-processed lateral photoconductive photodetectors. Significant photoresponse is demonstrated in MWIR with the lateral photoconductor at room temperature. The detailed analysis on the effect of ligand exchange as well as temperature and spectral dependent photoresponses is presented. In the second device structure, vertically stacked quantum dot devices are demonstrated. In this device architecture, a barrier QD layer is placed in between mid-wavelength absorber intraband Ag2Se QD layer. The insertion of barrier layer reduces dark current significantly since 1Se Ag2Se QD-1Se PbS QD conduction offset serves as a potential barrier, blocking the transport of thermally generated electrons and holes. In addition, vertical device design improves detector performance parameters significantly at room temperature. At the last part of the dissertation, development of p-n heterojunction diode devices is presented as third device structure. High performance detectors can be realized using a traditional p-n junction device design, however, the heavily-doped nature of intraband quantum dots present a new challenge in realizing diode devices. To address this challenge, an unique trait of blending two different QDs is employed to control electrical property. The fabricated p-n junction devices demonstrate reduced noise current density due to reverse bias operation, which shows improvement in the specific detectivity of the detector at room temperature. Consequently, this dissertation presents the feasibility of uncooled, room-temperature photodetection in the MWIR with intraband silver selenide quantum dots that has the potential to impact numerous applications ranging from all-weather night vision, machine vision, biomedical imaging, to free-space optical communication