UV photo-detector based on p-NiO thin film/n-ZnO nanorods heterojunction prepared by a simple process

A UV photo-detector based on p-NiO thin film/n-ZnO nanorods heterojunction was fabricated using a simple two-step fabrication process. The aqueous chemical hydrothermal and thermal evaporation methods were combined to grow the ZnO nanorods and the NiO thin film, respectively. Structural investigation indicated that well aligned ZnO nanorods with hexagonal face having a preferential orientation along the c-axis (0 0 2) have been achieved and that the NiO thin film is covering all the ZnO nanorods. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) was used to investigate the band alignment of the heterojunction and the valence and the conduction band offsets were determined to be 1.50 eV and 1.83 eV, respectively. The current-voltage characteristics of the p-NiO thin film/ZnO nanorods heterojunction showed a clear rectifying behavior under both dark and UV illumination conditions. The response of the heterojunction diode was excellent regarding the photocurrent generation. Although other similar heterojunction diodes demonstrated lower threshold voltage, the rectification ratio and the sensitivity of the fabricated diode were superior in comparison to other similar heterojunctions reported recently, implying the vitality of the presented two-step process.