Large Gain, Low Noise Nanocomposite Ultraviolet Photodetectors with a Linear Dynamic Range of 120 dB

A fullerene-based nanocomposite photodetector with peak quantum efficiency over 400% and specific detectivity of 6.5 × 1012 Jones at a wavelength of 390 nm is enabled by a cross-linked polymer:ZnO nanocomposite buffer layer. The introduced ZnO nanoparticles not only increase the photoconductive gain through a trap-controlled electron injection mechanism, but also effectively reduce the noise current, yielding a record linear dynamic range (LDR) of 120 dB.