Large-area, transparent, and flexible infrared photodetector fabricated using P-N junctions formed by N-doping chemical vapor deposition grown graphene

Nano Lett. 2014 Jul 9;14(7):3702-8. doi: 10.1021/nl500443j. Epub 2014 Jun 19.

Abstract

Graphene is a highly promising material for high speed, broadband, and multicolor photodetection. Because of its lack of bandgap, individually gated P- and N-regions are needed to fabricate photodetectors. Here we report a technique for making a large-area photodetector on the basis of controllable fabrication of graphene P-N junctions. Our selectively doped chemical vapor deposition (CVD) graphene photodetector showed a ∼5% modulation of conductance under global IR irradiation. By comparing devices of various geometries, we identify that both the homogeneous and the P-N junction regions contribute competitively to the photoresponse. Furthermore, we demonstrate that our two-terminal graphene photodetector can be fabricated on both transparent and flexible substrates without the need for complex fabrication processes used in electrically gated three-terminal devices. This represents the first demonstration of a fully transparent and flexible graphene-based IR photodetector that exhibits both good photoresponsivity and high bending capability. This simple approach should facilitate the development of next generation high-performance IR photodetectors.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
  • Research Support, U.S. Gov't, Non-P.H.S.

MeSH terms

  • Electric Conductivity
  • Equipment Design
  • Graphite / chemistry*
  • Infrared Rays
  • Nitrogen / chemistry*
  • Optics and Photonics / instrumentation*
  • Surface Properties

Substances

  • Graphite
  • Nitrogen