Fabrication and Characterization of a Capacitive Photodetector Comprising a ZnS/Cu Particle/Poly(vinyl butyral) Composite

Abstract

Most photodetectors developed to date essentially measure photocurrents induced by the generation and separation of electron hole pairs in semiconductors during irradiation. Although the above light detection method is well established, highly sensitive, and applicable to a broad range of semiconductor materials, it requires the presence of a stable and direct contact between the semiconductor and the electrode for accurate photocurrent measurements. In turn, this prerequisite necessitates the use of various costly processes for device fabrication (e.g., photolithography and vacuum deposition of semiconductors/metals) and complicates the development of flexible devices. Herein, inspired by the fact that the dielectric properties of certain materials can be changed by light irradiation, we dispersed ZnS/Cu semiconducting particles in poly(vinyl butyral) to prepare a free-standing composite film and formed two layers of Ag nanowire electrodes on both sides of the cured composite to fabricate a photodetector of a completely new type. The developed device exhibited a capacitance very sensitive to irradiation with light of a specific wavelength and additionally featured the advantages of simple structure/operation mechanism, mechanical flexibility, and transparency, not showing any signs of performance deterioration even after severe damage.