Novel UV-Visible Photodetector in Photovoltaic Mode with Fast Response and Ultrahigh Photosensitivity Employing Se/TiO2 Nanotubes Heterojunction.

A feasible strategy for hybrid photodetector by integrating an array of self-ordered TiO2 nanotubes (NTs) and selenium is demonstrated to break the compromise between the responsivity and response speed. Novel heterojunction between the TiO2 NTs and Se in combination with the surface trap states at TiO2 help regulate the electron transport and facilitate the separation of photogenerated electron-hole pairs under photovoltaic mode (at zero bias), leading to a high responsivity of ≈100 mA W-1 at 620 nm light illumination and the ultrashort rise/decay time (1.4/7.8 ms). The implanting of intrinsic p-type Se into TiO2 NTs broadens the detection range to UV-visible (280-700 nm) with a large detectivity of over 1012 Jones and a high linear dynamic range of over 80 dB. In addition, a maximum photocurrent of ≈107 A is achieved at 450 nm light illumination and an ultrahigh photosensitivity (on/off ratio up to 104 ) under zero bias upon UV and visible light illumination is readily achieved. The concept of employing novel heterojunction geometry holds great potential to pave a new way to realize high performance and energy-efficient optoelectronic devices for practical applications.