Wei Tian, et al, Nano Res. 2015. 8. 382

Nanoscale ultraviolet photodetectors based on one-dimensional metal oxide nanostructures

Nano Res. 2015. 8. 382

W. Tian*, H. Lu, L. Li*

Among the important optoelectronic devices, ultraviolet (UV) photodetectors show wide applications in fire monitoring, biological analysis, environmental sensors, space exploration, and UV irradiation detections. Research interest has focused on the utilization of one-dimensional (1D) metaloxidenanostructures to build advanced UV photodetectors through various processes. With large surface-to-volume ratio and well-controlled morphology and composition, 1D metaloxidenanostructures are regarded as promising candidates as components for building photodetectors with excellent sensitivity, superior quantum efficiency, and fast response speed. This article reviews the latest achievements with 1D metaloxidenanostructures reported over the past five years and their applications in UV light detection. It begins with an introduction of 1D metaloxidenanostructures, and the significance, key parameters and types of photodetectors. Then we present several kinds of widely-studied 1D nanostructures and their photodetection performance, focusing on binary oxides with wide-bandgap (such as ZnO, SnO₂, Ga₂O₃, Nb₂O₅, and WO₃) and ternary oxides (such as Zn₂SnO₄, Zn₂GeO₄, and In₂Ge₂O₇). Finally, the review concludes with our perspectives and outlook on future research directions in this field.