Comparison of the Photoresponse Characteristics for 4H–SiC Schottky Barrier UV Photodetector with Graphene and Ni/Cr Electrode

Abstract

Gr/4H-SiC and Ni/Cr/4H-SiC Schottky junction UV photodetectors were fabricated and investigated to reveal the effect of electrode materials on the device performance such as spectral response and response speed. I-V characterization, spectral response, and response speed (on-off) measurements were conducted for the UV wavelength range between 200 and 400 nm. The maximum photo-responsivity was obtained as 0.081 A/W for Gr/4H-SiC and 0.041 A/W for Ni/Cr/4H-SiC at a wavelength of 260 nm. This result was attributed to the higher optical transmittance of the graphene electrode compared to the semitransparent Ni/Cr electrode. Zero bias response speed measurements were done under 280 nm wavelength UV light pulsed at different frequencies such as 100 Hz, 500 Hz, and 1000 Hz. The Gr/4H-SiC and Ni/Cr/4H-SiC photodetectors show distinctly different decay times of 5.04 ms and 305.1 mu s, respectively, while their rise times were found to be similar. This observation has been explained by the inclination of graphene to act as a trap site for photogenerated holes.