Photoresponse characteristics of silicon carbide nanowires

This paper presents photoresponse characteristics of a CVD-grown single SiC nanowire. The SiCNW device exhibited significant positive and fast photocurrent response to UV light exposure. The SiCNW device did not exhibit any persistent photocurrent after the illumination ended, and showed great reversibility and recovery in photoconductance. This suggests an enhanced surface recombination of photoexcited electron-hole pairs due to the complete depletion of the space charge layer of the SIC nanowire. Therefore, the SiCNW devices show great potential for very sensitive nanoscale UV light sensors and photosensing elements in optoelectronic devices. (C) 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.