Screen-Printable Silver Paste Material for Semitransparent and Flexible Metal–Semiconductor–Metal Photodetectors with Liquid-Phase Procedure

Abstract

Photodetectors are widely applied in modern industrial fields because they convert light energy into electrical signals. We propose a printable silver (Ag) paste electrode for a highly flexible metal–semiconductor–metal (MSM) broadband visible light photodetector as a wearable and portable device. Single-crystal and surface-textured silicon substrates with thicknesses of 37.21 μm were fabricated using a wet etching process. Surface texturization on flexible Si substrates enhances the light-trapping effect and minimizes reflectance from the incident light, and the average reflectance is reduced by 16.3% with pyramid-like structures. In this study, semitransparent, conductive Ag paste electrodes were manufactured using a screen-printing with liquid-phase process to form a flexible MSM broadband visible light photodetector. The transmittance of the homemade Ag paste solution fell between 34.83% and 36.98% in the wavelength range of visible light, from 400 nm to 800 nm. The highest visible light photosensitivity was 1.75 × 104 at 19.5 W/m2. The photocurrents of the flexible MSM broadband visible light photodetector were slightly changed under concave and convex conditions, displaying stable and durable bending properties.