Effect of thickness of CdTe/Ge heterojunction photodetectors on optoelectronic properties

• Published in: Physica. B, Condensed matter Vol. 407; no. 17; pp. 3335 - 3338
• Main Author: Hadi Al-Kadhemy, Mahasin F.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Kidlington Elsevier B.V 01.09.2012; Elsevier
• Subjects: Applied sciences; Cadmium tellurides; CdTe thin film; Condensed matter; Effect of thickness; Electronics; Exact sciences and technology; Fittings; Heterojunctions; Optoelectronic devices; Optoelectronic properties; Optoelectronics; Photocurrent; Photodetectors; Photoelectric effect; Semiconductor electronics. Microelectronics. Optoelectronics. Solid state devices; Theoretical model; Theoretical model; Optoelectronic properties; CdTe thin film; Effect of thickness; Voltage current curve; Photodetector; Thin film; Thickness; Cadmium tellurides; Illumination; Germanium; Photoconductivity; Curve fitting; Heterostructures
• ISSN: 0921-4526; 1873-2135
• DOI: 10.1016/j.physb.2012.04.015

The influence of the thickness of CdTe/n-Ge heterojunction photodetectors on I–V curves was studied experimentally and theoretically. The thicknesses of the CdTe thin films were 110, 130, 150, and 200nm. The power intensity of illumination was 150mW/cm2. Increasing the thickness led to an increase in photocurrent. To investigate the importance of thickness on the optoelectronic properties of photodetectors, we developed a theoretical model to study its effect on I–V curves. Fitting curves and equations were obtained using the “Table curve 2D” software. Both the theoretical and experimental results exhibited the same behavior, and we determined that the power for the relationship between the photocurrent and reverse voltage was 3 for this photodetector.