Effect of oxygen annealing on the photoresponse of PbSe thin films fabricated by the pulsed laser deposition method

ABSTRACTIn this work, we have fabricated lead selenide (PbSe) thin films by the pulsed laser deposition method on Si/SiO2 substrates and investigated the effect of oxygen annealing (sensitization) in these films. The oxygen-sensitized films show high responsivity in the visible (VIS) and the near-infrared (NIR) region at room temperature without cooling. We also demonstrate the effective surface oxidation of PbSe thin films during the oxygen annealing process without treated with commonly used halogens that leads to a better photoresponse in these PbSe films.