Iridium/Silicon Ultrathin Film for Ultraviolet Photodetection: Harnessing Hot Plasmonic Effects

The phenomenon of hot carriers, which are generated through the nonradiative decay of surface plasmons in ultrathin metallic films, offers an intriguing opportunity for subbandgap photodetection even at room temperature. These hot carriers possess sufficient energy to inject into the conduction band of a semiconductor material. The groundbreaking use of iridium (Ir) ultrathin film as an ultraviolet (UV) plasmonic material on silicon (Si) for high-performance photodetectors (PHDs) has been successfully demonstrated. Elevating the thickness of the sputtered Ir film to 4 nm yields a notable surge in photocurrent, registering an impressive 600 μA under 365 nm UV illumination with electron mobility of 1.37E3 cm² V⁻¹ s. This PHD exhibits excellent OFF-ON photoresponses at various applied voltages ranging from 0 to 5 V, maintaining a stable photocurrent. Under UV illumination, it displays exceptional performance, achieving a high detectivity of 1.25E14 Jones and a responsivity of 1.28 A W⁻¹. These outstanding results underscore the significant advantages of increasing the thickness of the Ir film in PHDs, leading to improvements in conductivity, detectivity, external quantum efficiency, responsivity, as well as superior sensitivity for light detection.