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Vol. 16 (2024)

Facile Semiconductor p–n Homojunction Nanowires with Strategic p-Type Doping Engineering Combined with Surface Reconstruction for Biosensing Applications

https://doi.org/10.1007/s40820-024-01394-5
Liuan Li
iGaN Laboratory, School of Microelectronics, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei 230026, People’s Republic of China
Shi Fang
iGaN Laboratory, School of Microelectronics, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei 230026, People’s Republic of China
Wei Chen
iGaN Laboratory, School of Microelectronics, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei 230026, People’s Republic of China
Yueyue Li
Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Anhui Medical University, No 218 Jixi Road, Hefei 230022, People’s Republic of China
Mohammad Fazel Vafadar
Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, McGill University, 3480 University Street, Montreal, QC H3A 0E9, Canada
Danhao Wang
iGaN Laboratory, School of Microelectronics, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei 230026, People’s Republic of China
Yang Kang
iGaN Laboratory, School of Microelectronics, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei 230026, People’s Republic of China
Xin Liu
iGaN Laboratory, School of Microelectronics, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei 230026, People’s Republic of China
Yuanmin Luo
iGaN Laboratory, School of Microelectronics, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei 230026, People’s Republic of China
Kun Liang
iGaN Laboratory, School of Microelectronics, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei 230026, People’s Republic of China
Yiping Dang
Union Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, No 1277 Jiefang Ave., Wuhan 430022, People’s Republic of China
Lei Zhao
Union Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, No 1277 Jiefang Ave., Wuhan 430022, People’s Republic of China
Songrui Zhao
Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, McGill University, 3480 University Street, Montreal, QC H3A 0E9, Canada
Zongzhi Yin
Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Anhui Medical University, No 218 Jixi Road, Hefei 230022, People’s Republic of China
Haiding Sun
iGaN Laboratory, School of Microelectronics, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei 230026, People’s Republic of China

Corresponding Author: Haiding Sun

haiding@ustc.edu.cn

Nano-Micro Letters, Vol. 16 (2024), Article Number: 192

Abstract

Photosensors with versatile functionalities have emerged as a cornerstone for breakthroughs in the future optoelectronic systems across a wide range of applications. In particular, emerging photoelectrochemical (PEC)-type devices have recently attracted extensive interest in liquid-based biosensing applications due to their natural electrolyte-assisted operating characteristics. Herein, a PEC-type photosensor was carefully designed and constructed by employing gallium nitride (GaN) p–n homojunction semiconductor nanowires on silicon, with the p-GaN segment strategically doped and then decorated with cobalt–nickel oxide (CoNiOx). Essentially, the p–n homojunction configuration with facile p-doping engineering improves carrier separation efficiency and facilitates carrier transfer to the nanowire surface, while CoNiOx decoration further boosts PEC reaction activity and carrier dynamics at the nanowire/electrolyte interface. Consequently, the constructed photosensor achieves a high responsivity of 247.8 mA W−1 while simultaneously exhibiting excellent operating stability. Strikingly, based on the remarkable stability and high responsivity of the device, a glucose sensing system was established with a demonstration of glucose level determination in real human serum. This work offers a feasible and universal approach in the pursuit of high-performance bio-related sensing applications via a rational design of PEC devices in the form of nanostructured architecture with strategic doping engineering.


Highlights:
1 A novel photoelectrochemical (PEC) photosensor composed of GaN nanowire-on-Si platform demonstrates record-high responsivity of 247.8 mA W−1 with ultra-stable operation characteristics.
2 Strategic internal and external band structure engineering of semiconductor nanowires promotes efficient PEC reaction via controlling carrier dynamics while preserving nanowires from material degradation.
3 The glucose sensing system is constructed to successfully analyze blood glucose levels in real human serum samples, featuring a high sensitivity of 0.173 µA µM−1 cm−2 and a low detection limit of 0.07 µM.

Keywords

p–n GaN nanowires Strategic p-doping Surface decoration Photoelectrochemical sensor Glucose sensing
Li, Liuan, Shi Fang, Wei Chen, Yueyue Li, Mohammad Fazel Vafadar, Danhao Wang, Yang Kang, Xin Liu, Yuanmin Luo, Kun Liang, Yiping Dang, Lei Zhao, Songrui Zhao, Zongzhi Yin, and Haiding Sun. 2024. “Facile Semiconductor p–n Homojunction Nanowires With Strategic P-Type Doping Engineering Combined With Surface Reconstruction for Biosensing Applications”. Nano-Micro Letters 16 (May):192. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40820-024-01394-5.
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