A New Wide Bandgap Semiconductor: Carbyne Nanocrystals

Deep ultraviolet (DUV) photodetectors (PDs) always and inevitably face a drastic working environment such as high temperature. However, DUV PDs based on the reported wide bandgap semiconductor materials cannot simultaneously possess high stability and high performance at high temperatures. Here, for the first time, a new wide bandgap semiconductor material, carbyne nanocrystals (CNCs), is reported. The constructed DUV PD made from CNCs demonstrates high-performance and high stability at the temperature of 300 degrees C, which is the highest working temperature reported to date for DUV PDs. Under 266 nm light at room temperature, the CNCs-based PD exhibits a low dark current of less than 10 pA and a high signal-to-noise ratio of greater than 10(6) at a bias voltage of 2 V. It can work at the temperature up to 300 degrees C, exhibiting a current on-off ratio of 2.1, and accompanied by a fast response/recovery speed of less than 0.06 s. The excellent transport properties of CNCs would be of great benefit to enhance the performance of devices. These findings open the door to the applications of CNCs as a new wide bandgap semiconductor material.

Automated summary

Carbyne nanocrystals (CNCs) are a new type of wide bandgap semiconductor material, and DUV photodetectors (PDs) made from CNCs exhibit high performance and stability at temperatures up to 300 degrees Celsius. CNCs show excellent properties such as low dark current, high signal-to-noise ratio, and fast response and recovery speed, making them suitable for operation in high-temperature environments.