Performance improvement of ZnO nanorod arrays / ZnO quantum dots / P3HT hybrid photodetector by Au nanoparticles

Self-powered hybrid plasmonic photodetectors based on Zinc oxide (ZnO) nanorod arrays (NRAs)/ZnO quantum dots (QDs)/poly(3-hexylthiophene) (P3HT) incorporated with gold nanoparticles (Au NPs) were successfully fabricated. The photoresponse performance of the ZnO NRAs/ZnO QDs/P3HT hybrid photodetectors was enhanced by the incorporation of Au NPs. The optimal ZnO NRAs/ZnO QDs-Au(250) NPs/P3HT organic-inorganic hybrid plasmonic photodetector exhibits a photo-to-dark current ratio of 2450, a responsivity of 46 mA/W and a specific detectivity of 1.88 × 10 11 Jones under 525 nm light illumination and zero bias voltage. This study offers novel insights into the utilization of metal nanoparticles to enhance the performance of organic-inorganic hybrid photodetectors.