Increasing UV Photon Response of ZnO Sensor with Nanowires Array

Single nanowire (NW) is widely studied as UV sensor, chemical sensor, biosensor, etc. Through modifying the surface of nanowire, using Schottky contact and other methods, the sensitivity is greatly increased. But expensive equipment is needed to detect the very weak current. Increasing photon response is an effective way to detect the small signal with low price. Here we demonstrate a new method to largely enhance the photon response of ZnO UV sensor by utilizing NWs array. The photon response Delta/ is increased from 0.14 mu A to 3 mu A when the amount of NWs increases from 2 to 41. And it can be further increased with increasing the amount of ZnO NWs. This gives an effective way to detect weak UV light with low precision equipment.