Magnetically-assisted pulsed laser ablation for tailored silver nanoparticles: enhanced optical, structural, and photodetection performance
摘要
Silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) were synthesized via pulsed laser ablation in liquid (PLAL) under a 250 mT magnetic field to investigate their structural and optoelectronic evolution. Magnetic plasma confinement significantly optimized nanoparticle formation, producing AgNPs with an average diameter of 5.5 nm. Optical and structural analyses confirmed that the magnetic field increased yield and refined crystallinity. The optoelectronic performance of integrated AgNPs was evaluated using single-layer (n-Si/AgNPs) and hybrid double-layer (n-Si/MB dye: AgNPs) configurations. Under 365 nm UV illumination, the hybrid device demonstrated a peak responsivity of 156.48 mA/W at 6 V, representing a 166.8% enhancement over the AgNP-only device (42.64 mA/W). Furthermore, specific detectivity improved reach to 1.23 × 1010 Jones for the hybrid architecture compared to 2.71 × 109 Jones for the single-layer design. This superior performance is attributed to the synergistic effects of localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) and MB-sensitized charge transfer. Time-resolved measurements confirmed fast, repeatable switching kinetics demonstrating that magnetically-modulated PLAL is an effective pathway for engineering high-performance with plasmonic-based UV photodetectors.