Abstract

Magnesium doping offers a route to modify the structural and optical properties of copper oxide (CuO) nanoparticles for optoelectronic devices. This study investigates the influence of Mg concentration on CuO nanoparticles and evaluates a p-type Mg-doped CuO/n-type silicon (p-MDC/n-Si) heterojunction photodiode. Undoped and Mg-doped CuO nanoparticles containing 1, 3, 6, and 9 wt% Mg were synthesized by coprecipitation. Their structural, morphological, elemental, vibrational, and optical properties were characterized using X-ray diffraction, field-emission scanning electron microscopy, energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy, ultraviolet-visible diffuse reflectance spectroscopy, and photoluminescence measurements. X-ray diffraction confirmed a monoclinic CuO phase, with the smallest average crystallite size of 27 nm obtained at 3 wt% Mg. Electron microscopy revealed aggregated grains with varying morphologies, while elemental analysis detected Cu, O, and Mg. Optical measurements indicated Mg-dependent changes in absorption and estimated band gaps ranging from 1.3 to 2.5 eV. Infrared spectra exhibited Cu–O vibrations at 474 and 606 cm⁻¹, and photoluminescence peaks occurred at 364, 383, and 414 nm. Nanoparticles containing 9 wt% Mg were selected for diode fabrication. Current–voltage measurements demonstrated light-dependent electrical behavior, with the ideality factor decreasing from 6.8 in darkness to 3.9 under illumination. The diode exhibited 1085% photosensitivity and a reported specific detectivity of 2.1 × 10⁹ Jones. These findings indicate the potential of Mg-doped CuO/silicon heterojunctions for photodetection, subject to further device validation and systematic measurements of stability and response speed.

Keywords

CuO Nanoparticle, Co-Precipitation, MDC NPs, I-V Characteristic, Detectivity, TEM analysis,

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References

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