Visible-blind GaN Schottky barrier detectors grown on Si(111)

We report novel GaN detectors grown by molecular beam epitaxy on Si(111) substrates. Wurtzite structure epitaxial GaN exhibits room-temperature photoluminescence with a band-edge-related emission width as narrow as 7 nm and intensities comparable to high quality layers grown on sapphire by metalorganic chemical vapor deposition. Spectral response of lateral geometry Schottky detectors shows a sharp cutoff at 365 nm with peak responsivities of approximate-to 0.05 A/W at 0V, and approximate-to 0.1 A/W with a -4V bias. The dark current is approximate-to 60 nA at -2V bias. the noise equivalent power is estimated to be 3.7x10(-9)W over the responsible bandwidth of 2.2 MHz.