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Silicon-Based Photodetector Is Sensitive To Ultraviolet Light
Champaign IL (SPX) Jul 20, 2004 By depositing thin films of silicon nanoparticles on silicon substrates, researchers at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign have fabricated a photodetector sensitive to ultraviolet light. Silicon-based ultraviolet sensors could prove very handy in military, security and commercial applications. "Silicon is the most common semiconductor, but it has not been useful for detecting ultraviolet light until now," said Munir Nayfeh, a professor of physics at Illinois and a researcher at the Beckman Institute for Advanced Science and Technology. "Ultraviolet light is usually absorbed by silicon and converted into heat, but we found a way to make silicon devices that absorb ultraviolet light and produce electrical current instead." As will be reported in the August issue of the journal Photonics Technology Letters, the technique behind silicon sensing of ultraviolet light is compatible with conventional integrated circuit technology. Conveniently, both the sensor and the computer could be incorporated on the same chip. To create their ultraviolet-based photodetectors, Nayfeh, graduate students Satish Rao, Adam Smith and Joel Therrien, and undergraduate student Osama Nayfeh begin with nanoparticles dispensed from silicon wafers using electrochemical etching. The nanoparticles are about 1 billionth of a meter in diameter and contain about 30 silicon atoms. The researchers then deposit a thin film of the nanoparticles in a hole etched into the surface of another silicon wafer using standard lithographic techniques. Small conductive pads of gold complete the assembly. Electricity flows when ultraviolet light strikes the nanoparticles. "Ultraviolet light efficiently couples to the nanoparticles and produces electron-hole pairs," said Nayfeh, who also is a researcher at the university's Center for Nanoscale Science and Technology. "Contrary to what occurs in bulk silicon, the electron-hole pairs do not appreciably recombine by non-radiative processes. Strong quantum confinement allows for charge separation and collection." Combining silicon nanoparticles with conventional silicon wafers could offer the best of both material systems, Nayfeh said. "Placing a thin layer of nanoparticles on the front of a silicon solar cell, for example, could improve the cell's efficiency and its lifetime." Other applications include ultraviolet-based detectors for missile-warning systems and airborne biological agents, industrial flame sensors and suntan monitors. Community Email This Article Comment On This Article Related Links Beckman Institute for Advanced Science and Technology SpaceDaily Search SpaceDaily Subscribe To SpaceDaily Express Space Technology News - Applications and Research
Industry Team Achieve New Communications Technology With AESA Radars
Baltimore MD (SPX) Jan 12, 2006A team comprised of three leading US aerospace and defense contractors has demonstrated an innovative technological use of active electronically scanned array (AESA) radars for high-bandwidth communications. |
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