Enhanced Performance of Solar-Blind UV Photodetector Based on β-Ga2O3 Nanowires Grown by a Magnetron Sputtering

The development of simple and highly controllable fabrication methods for the beta-Ga2O3, especially for the nanowire structure, has been a challenge. The slanted Ga2O3 nanowires are favorable for increasing the optical contact area and improving photon flux through nanoparticle scattering, leading to an increase in the photogenerated carrier yield. Herein, obliquely oriented and uniformly distributed beta-Ga2O3 nanowires are fabricated on Si substrates by a radio frequency magnetron sputtering using the strategy of Au nanoparticles as an intermediate catalyst. By depositing Ti and Au electrodes, the metal-semiconductor-metal Ga2O3-based photodetectors are fabricated with a simple structure. Remarkably, the photodetector based on the beta-Ga2O3 nanowires outperforms the one based on the beta-Ga2O3 film, demonstrating higher responsivity and an exceptional photocurrent-to-dark current ratio (I-photo/I-dark) of 1.43 x 10(4) @5 V. This work presents a promising approach to enhance the utilization of incident light and maximize the generation of photoinduced carriers in the Ga2O3-based photodetectors.