High-performance quasi-solid-state photoelectrochemical-type ultraviolet photodetector based on ZnO nanowire arrays

An enhanced photoelectrochemical (PEC)-type photodetector based on ZnO nanowire arrays (ZnO NAs) was constructed by bringing in a electrolyte embedded with liquid crystal (LC) in this paper. It was indicated that this UV photodetector exhibited visible-blind, high responsivity, and rapid response. The device based on the ZnO NAs showed a high responsivity of 0.05 A/W under 383 nm UV illumination at zero bias. The response time was observed to be rapid with a rise time constant of 0.15 s and a decay time constant of 0.05 s, respectively. The remarkably high photodetecting performance is due to the enhanced absorption of photons increased by LC-embedded electrolyte. This device can have a great future for application in high-performance and rapid-response UV photodetectors.