A Visible-Blind TiO2 Nanowire Photodetector

The authors report the growth of TiO2 nanowires by heating the Ti/glass template and the fabrication of a TiO2 nanowire photodetector (PD) by depositing interdigitated contact electrodes. It was also found that the fabricated TiO2 nanowire PD was visible-blind with a cutoff wavelength around 390 nm. Compared with conventional film-type TiO2 PDs, it was found that we could achieve a 10 times larger photocurrent from the TiO2 nanowire PD. It was also found that dynamic response of the TiO2 nanowire PD was stable and reproducible with an on/off current contrast ratio of around 100. Furthermore, it was found that UV-to-visible rejection ratio observed from the TiO2 nanowire PD was also larger, as compared to conventional film-type TiO2 PDs. (C) 2012 The Electrochemical Society. [DOI: 10.1149/2.008205jes] All rights reserved.