Novel Ultraviolet Phototransistor Design Based On SnO₂ Thin-Film Combined with Surface Ag Nanoparticles

This study investigated a new ultraviolet UV phototransistor structure employing SnO<inf xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">2</inf> thin-film and plasmonic Ag nanoparticles (NPs). The main objective is to enhance the photogeneration capability in the active layer to achieve enhanced responsibility. Numerical model is developed for the device under examination and the photoresponse characteristics of the device are extracted. Utilizing a 3-D FDTD approach, the optical properties of SnO<inf xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">2</inf> thin-film coated with Ag NPs are explored, revealing enhanced UV-absorbance capabilities attributed to localized surface plasmon resonance effects (LSPR). The effect of the NPs radius and spacing on the device performance is also analyzed. It is revealed that the proposed device can enhance the device UV photodetection properties offering a high current ratio of 90 dB. This innovative approach using cost-effective SnO<inf xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">2</inf> active layer decorated with Ag NPs, significantly improves absorption capability of UV laght, offering a promising avenue for the development of alternative phototransistors for optical wireless communication systems (OWCS).