COL 12(Suppl.), S10402(2014) CHINESE OPTICS LETTERS April 30, 2014
1671-7694/2014/S10402(4) S10402-1 © 2014 Chinese Optics Letters
Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) have unique physical and
chemical properties. Numerous studies have focused on
the optical properties of single-walled CNT (SWCNT)
and multi-walled CNT (MWCNT)
[1–5]
. Particularly, the
interaction of CNTs with light brings opportunities for
the development of novel nano optoelectronic devices.
The photoconductivity of isolated SWCNTs has been
studied by Freitag et al.
[6]
. Levisky et al.
[7]
investigated
the photoconductivity of thin CNT random networks.
The photoresponse was observed in macrobundles of
the MWCNTs
[8–10]
. The photoelectric response of MW-
CNT lms from UV to visible light was analyzed
[11]
.
Feng et al.
[12]
have studied the photoluminescence and
photoelectric response characteristics of TiO
2
nanopar-
ticles decorated with MWCNTs in ultraviolet radiation.
The laser-induced photocurrents of large-area vertically
aligned MWCNTs have also been studied
[13]
.
In a photoresponse study of CNTs, the mechanism of
contact between CNTs and metal electrodes is an im-
portant issue because it is generally believed that there
is a Schottky barrier between semi-conducting CNTs
and metal electrode junctions. Several experiments of
individual and bundles of SWCNTs and MWCNTs have
demonstrated that photocurrent generates when light
illuminates the CNTs/metal junctions
[14–16]
. It was re-
ported that photocurrent occurs at MWCNT and metal
junction in a macroscopically long bundle of ordered
MWCNTs
[17]
, disordered MWCNTs mat
[18]
and MW-
CNT–CuS hybrid nanostructures
[19]
. If the sample is a
macroscopic lm, a new eect must be introduced by
the interaction between the CNTs and CNTs and metal
electrode conjunctions.
In this paper, experimental studies on photores-
ponse eect in disordered MWCNT lms/Al electrode
structures are presented. The MWCNT lms are de-
posited by chemical method at SiO
2
substrate. The
photoconductivity measurements have been performed
under laser illumination in dierent positions including
the electrodes, with dierent bias voltage on electrodes.
MWCNT lms were prepared on SiO
2
substrate coated
by separated Al electrodes with thickness of 200 nm. Puri-
ed disordered CNT raw materials (approximately 0.5 g)
were dispersed in 100 mL ethanol and mixed by low-
speed magnetic stirring (approximately 5 m), then agi-
tated by long ultrasonic agitating (approximately 60 m)
to make sure uniform dispersion of CNT suspension.
MWCNT suspensions were transferred to the substrate
and heated.
Figure 1 shows a scanning electron microscopy (SEM)
photo. The distance between two Al electrodes is 10
mm. Dierent amounts of disordered CNTs lead to dif-
ferent thickness and the resistance of the lms.
Figure 2 shows the Raman spectra of the MWCNT
lm excited by a 532 nm laser. The intense bands at
the vicinity of 1340 and 1569 cm
−1
are the D band
Photo-induced currents in large area multiwalled
CNT lms/Al Structure
Jie Zhang (张 洁)
1*
, Yulin Chen (陈俞霖)
1
, Yong Zhu (朱 永)
1
, and Fei Luo (骆 飞)
2
1
The Key Laboratory for Optoelectronic Technology & System, Education Ministry of
China, Chongqing University, Chongqing 400044, China
2
FLT Inc, 405 Waltham St. #306, Lexington, MA 02421, USA
*
Corresponding author: zhangjie@cqu.edu.cn
Received July 29, 2013; accepted October 13, 2013; posted online March 25, 2014
Photoresponse of large-area multi-walled carbon nanotube (MWCNT) lms is explored under laser illumina-
tion. The experiment shows that the photo-induced current shows nearly linear response to the bias voltage.
The photocurrent depends on the laser illumination spot position, with the maximum photocurrent occurring
at the metal–lm interface, while the minimum photocurrent is observed between two electrodes. We are at-
tributing this photo-generated exciton due to Schottky junction between Al electrodes and the CNTs, and
electron’s concentration eect. The sample device shows photo responsibility of 521 mA/W at a bias voltage
of 2V, which indicates that this device can be developed as a position-sensitive photodetector.
OCIS codes: 040.5150, 040.5350.
doi: 10.3788/COL201412.S10402.
Fig. 1. Photo and SEM image of MWCNT lm sample.