Solution-Processed Mg-Substituted ZnO Thin Films for Metal-Semiconductor-Metal Visible-Blind Photodetectors

The effects of Mg on the microstructural, optical, and electrical properties of sol-gel derived ZnO transparent semiconductor thin films and the photoelectrical properties of photodetectors based on MgxZn1−xO (where x = 0 to 0.3) thin films with the metal-semiconductor-metal (MSM) configuration were investigated in this study. All the as-synthesized ZnO-based thin films had a single-phase wurtzite structure and showed high average transmittance of 91% in the visible wavelength region. The optical bandgap of MgxZn1−xO thin films increased from 3.25 to 3.56 eV and the electrical resistivity of the films rose from 6.1 × 102 to 1.4 × 104 Ω·cm with an increase in Mg content from x = 0 to x = 0.3. Compared with those of the pure ZnO thin film, the PL emission peaks of the MgZnO thin films showed an apparent blue-shift feature in the UV and visible regions. The photo-detection capability was investigated under visible, UVA, and UVC light illumination. Linear I-V characteristics were obtained in these ZnO-based photodetectors under dark and light illumination conditions, indicating an ohmic contact between the Au electrodes and ZnO-based thin films. It was found that the pure ZnO photodetector exhibited the best photoconductivity gain, percentage of sensitivity, and responsivity under UVA illumination. Under UVC illumination, the photoconductivity gain and percentage of sensitivity of the MgZnO photodetectors were better than those of the pure ZnO photodetector.