In this work, a self-powered GaN-based metal-semiconductor-metal photodetector (MSM PD) with high responsivity has been proposed and fabricated. The proposed MSM PD forms an asymmetric feature by using the polarization effect under one electrode, such that we adopt an AlGaN/GaN heterojunction to produce the electric field, and by doing so, an asymmetric energy band between the two electrodes can be obtained even when the device is unbiased. The asymmetric feature is proven by generating the asymmetric current-voltage characteristics both in the dark and the illumination conditions. Our results show that the asymmetric energy band enables the self-powered PD, and the peak responsivity wavelength is 240 nm with the responsivity of 0.005 A/W. Moreover, a high responsivity of 13.56 A/W at the applied bias of 3 V is also achieved. Thanks to the very strong electric field in the charge transport region, when compared to the symmetric MSM PD, the proposed MSM PD can reach an increased photocurrent of 100 times larger than that for the conventional PD, even if the illumination intensity for the light source becomes increased.

AlGaN solar-blind ultraviolet detectors have great potential in many fields, although their performance has not fully meet the requirements until now. Here, we proposed an approach to utilize the inherent polarization effect of AlGaN to improve the detector performance. AlGaN heterostructures were designed to enhance the polarization field in the absorption layer, and a high built-in field and a high electron mobility conduction channel were formed. As a result, a high-performance solar-blind ultraviolet detector with a peak responsivity of 1.42 A/W at 10 V was achieved, being 50 times higher than that of the nonpolarization-enhanced one. Moreover, an electron reservoir structure was proposed to further improve the performance. A higher peak responsivity of 3.1 A/W at 30 V was achieved because the electron reservoir structure could modulate the electron concentration in the conduction channel. The investigation presented here provided feasible approaches to improve the performance of the AlGaN detector by taking advantage of its inherent property.

The tilted energy band in the multiple quantum wells (MQWs) arising from the polarization effect causes the quantum confined Stark effect (QCSE) for [0001] oriented III-nitride-based near ultraviolet light-emitting diodes (NUV LEDs). Here, we prove that the polarization effect in the MQWs for NUV LEDs can be self-screened once the polarization-induced bulk charges are employed by using the alloy-gradient In_xGa_1-xN quantum barriers. The numerical calculations demonstrate that the electric field in the quantum wells becomes weak and thereby flattens the energy band in the quantum wells, which accordingly increases the spatial overlap for the electron-hole wave functions. The polarization self-screening effect is further proven by observing the blueshift for the peak emission wavelength in the calculated and the measured emission spectra. Our results also indicate that for NUV LEDs with a small conduction band offset between the quantum well and the quantum barrier, the electron injection efficiency for the proposed structure becomes low. Therefore, we suggest doping the proposed quantum barrier structures with Mg dopants.