Laser Ablation of PbI2 Nanoparticles in Liquid Phase for Tuning Optoelectronic Devices: Effect of Laser Fluence
摘要
In this study, PbI₂ nanoparticles were successfully synthesized using the pulsed laser ablation in liquid (PLAL) technique under different laser fluences ranging from 15 to 30 J/cm². The influence of laser fluence on properties of PbI₂ nanoparticles, as well as the photodetection properties of nanostructured PbI₂/n–Si photodetectors, was investigated. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) analysis revealed that increasing the laser fluence enhanced the uniformity and increased the mean particle size of PbI₂ nanoparticles from 50 nm to 88 nm. X-ray diffraction (XRD) studies confirmed the formation of crystalline PbI₂ with a hexagonal 2 H–PbI₂ phase. Improved crystallinity with decreased lattice strain (~ 0.011) and low dislocation density (~ 1.29 × 10¹¹ cm⁻²) was attained at the optimal laser fluence of 25 J/cm². The optical absorption of PbI₂ increased as the laser fluence increased, whereas the direct energy gap values were slightly blue-shifted, ranging from 3.15 to 3.3 eV. Hall effect measurements confirmed the n-type conductivity of PbI₂, and a mobility of 60.2 cm²/V·s and an electrical resistivity of 10.04 Ω·cm were recorded, which contributed to the improved photodetector performance at 25 J/cm². The fabricated n–PbI₂/p–Si photodetector demonstrated superior performance at 25 J/cm², exhibiting the highest responsivity of 0.76 A/W at 550 nm, a detectivity of 3.82 × 10¹¹ Jones, and an external quantum efficiency of 86%. These findings highlight that laser fluence plays a crucial role in controlling the structural quality and optoelectronic behavior of PbI₂ nanoparticles, making 25 J/cm² the optimal condition for high-performance, low-cost visible photodetectors.