Gallium doped n-type ZnxCd1-xS nanoribbons: Synthesis and photoconductivity properties

Gallium doped ZnxCd1-xS nanoribbons (NRs) with controlled composition were synthesized on Au-coated Si (100) substrates by a simple thermal co-evaporation method. The composition of ZnxCd1-xS:Ga NRs can be simply controlled by the distance of the substrates from the source powder. The grown NRs exhibit excellent crystallinity, with growth direction along [0002]. It is found that the gallium doping can remarkably enhance the conductivity of ZnxCd1-xS:Ga NRs, leading to obvious n-type conduction behavior. It is also observed that the ZnxCd1-xS:Ga NRs show sensitive photoresponse to visible light illumination with excellent stability and reproducibility. The generality of this study suggests the great potential of the ZnxCd1-xS:Ga NRs for future optoelectronics application.