Gallium oxide cantilevered thin film-based solar-blind photodetector and its arc detection applications

Abstract

The performance of gallium oxide (Ga₂O₃) thin film detector based on metal-semiconductor-metal (MSM) is highly dependent on the uniformity of the Ga₂O₃ thin film, and the manufacturing process is quite sophisticated, which poses a challenge for the scale-up and mass production of thin film photodetectors. In this work, an MSM Ga₂O₃ thin film solar-blind photodetector with five-finger interdigital electrodes is fabricated by physically depositing Ga₂O₃ thin film on the surface of a mass-produced cantilevered thin film chip. Through the microelectromechanical system (MEMS) process, the cantilever electrode structure is prepared, which protects the internal circuit and the integrity of the thin film. The Ga₂O₃ thin film treated by argon plasma at a low temperature is amorphous, but the photodetector still possesses considerable ultraviolet detection performance. At a bias voltage of 18 V, it approaches the detection performance of crystalline Ga₂O₃ thin film, with a detectivity of 7.9×10¹⁰ Jones, an external quantum efficiency of 1779%, rise time and decay time of 1.22 s and 0.24 s, respectively. Moreover, a system of arc detection is built in outdoor environments. Without any optical focusing system, this photodetector achieves sensitive detection of pulsed arc in an outdoor sunlight environments. For pulsed arcs with an output voltage of 100 kV, the photodetector is capable of sensitive detection at a distance of 25 cm. Besides, the maximum detection distance of 155 cm indicates that the photodetector will have a favorable potential application value in the field of solar-blind detection. This work develops a sensitive functional thin film deposition technology based on the cantilever electrode structure fabricated by the MEMS process, which avoids the influence of the large-area uniformity of the functional thin film on the etching circuit. It provides a new technical approach and process route for preparing MSM photodetectors.