Single-crystalline CdTe nanowire field effect transistors as nanowire-based photodetector

Abstract

The electronic and photoconductive characteristics of CdTe nanowire-based field effect transistors were studied systematically. The electrical characterization of a single CdTe nanowire FET verifies p-type behavior. The CdTe NW FETs respond to visible-near infrared (400–800 nm) incident light with a fast, reversible and stable response characterized by a high responsivity (81 A W⁻¹), photoconductive gain (∼2.5 × 10⁴%) and reasonable response and decay times (0.7 s and 1 s, respectively). These results substantiate the potential of CdTe nanowire-based photodetectors in optoelectronic applications.