Alloy Engineering of Indium-Doped SnSe Crystals: A Promising Material for Self-Biased Photodetection Applications

Advanced semiconductor materials are of significant interest for energy and optoelectronics applications due to their essential role in the development of next, generation devices. Literature shows that alloy engineering is a promising method to adjust the physical properties of materials, especially for creating self, powered photodetectors. In the present study, we explore the structural, optical, and electrical characteristics of In-doped SnSe (InxSn1–xSe; x = 0, 0.25, 0.50) single crystals grown using the Direct Vapor Transfer (DVT) technique. Our major emphasis is on photodetection behavior. XRD and HRTEM results confirm the orthorhombic crystal structure, and Raman analysis shows doping-induced lattice distortion evidenced by a blue shift of phonon modes. Resistivity as a function of temperature displays highly anisotropic charge transport behavior that is characteristic of layered van der Waals semiconductors. UV–vis measurements suggest the presence of tunable bandgaps ideal for broadband photodetection. Furthermore, In doped SnSe photodetectors under the self-biased condition demonstrate significantly improved photoresponsivity and detectivity when illuminated by multiple wavelengths. The findings of this investigation supply a viable method to fabricate high, efficiency photodetectors that can contribute to the achievement of SDGs 7 and 9.