Vertical Solar-Blind Deep-Ultraviolet Schottky Photodetectors Based on β-Ga₂O₃Substrates

A vertical-type Schottky photodetector based on a (100)-oriented β-Ga2O3 substrate has been fabricated with simple processes of thermal annealing and vacuum evaporation. The photodetector exhibited a rectification ratio higher than 106 at ±3 V, and showed deep-ultraviolet-light detection at reverse bias. The spectral response showed solar-blind sensitivity with high photoresponsivities of 2.6–8.7 A/W at wavelengths of 200–260 nm. These values were 35–150 times higher than those derived assuming the internal quantum efficiency to be unity. This fact is attributed to the carrier multiplication occurring in the highly resistive surface region that is subject to a high internal electric field of about 1.0 MV/cm at the reverse bias of 10 V.