Core-shell nanocrystals for plasmon-enhanced photodetection in the graphene-based hybrid photodetector

Incorporating plasmonic metal nanostructures into the semiconductor compounds in the form of core-shell offers a new route to improving the performance of photodetectors. Herein, we have reported the development of a high-performance photodetector based on Cu2NiSnS4 (CNTS) nanocrystals (NCs) and Au/CNTS core-shell structures (complex or others, instead NC), for the first time, as a proof-of-concept experiment using the colloidal hot-injection method. The photoactive Au/CNTS core-shell NCs exhibit enhanced optical absorption, carrier extraction efficiency, and improved photo-sensing performance. It is depicted that using this Au/CNTS core-shell/graphene-based photodetector, there is a significant increment in optoelectronic responses compared to using a pristine CNTS/graphene-based photodetector. The maximum responsivity, detectivity, and external quantum efficiency (EQE) of 1.2 $\times 10^{3}$ AW$^{-1}$, 6.2$\times 10^{11}$ Jones, and 3.8$\times 10^{5}$ \% were measured at an illumination power density of 318.5 $\mu$Wcm-2. Importantly, this enhanced optoelectronic performance is mainly due to the plasmonic-induced resonance energy transfer (PIRET) effect of core Au; carrier density is significantly increased between the Au core and CNTS shell. Further, the device using Au/CNTS exhibits a fast response/recovery time of 2.58/11.14 sec and excellent operational reliability. These results enlighten a new era in the fabrication and development of plasmonic core-shell nanostructures-based visible photo-sensing devices for imaging applications.