Tin-manganese-nickel oxide thin films prepared by thermal evaporation for photosensor applications

Abstract This study reports the synthesis and characterization of non-stoichiometric nanocrystalline Tin-Manganese-Nickel (Sn-Mn-Ni) oxide thin films prepared by thermal evaporation for photosensor applications. The photoconductive characteristics were investigated by fabricating a sandwich-structure device of p+-Si-substrate/Sn-Mn-Ni-oxide-thin-film/indium-tin-oxide (ITO). Results show that Sn37Mn10Ni53Ox thin films exhibit an absorption coefficient of 1.15 × 106 cm−1 in visible light spectrum. In additions, the device characteristics including a high responsivity (Rres) of 11.5 A/W, and the fast photo-response with a rise time (tr) of 41.2 ms and a fall time (tf) of 41.6 ms measured at 1.0 V bias and 460 nm wavelength were obtained. Hence, the Sn37Mn10Ni53Ox thin film is favorable for potential photosensor applications in visible light spectrum.