n-Si/p-NbSe2 Heterojunctions Designed as Color-Selective Photodetectors for Visible-Light Communication

Herein, p-NbSe2 thin films were deposited onto n-Si substrates to fabricate an n-Si/p-NbSe2 (SNS) heterojunction for visible light communication (VLC) applications. Structural analysis revealed that the NbSe2 films possess a trigonal phase and are composed of slightly elongated and irregularly shaped grains with an average size of 0.131 μm. Electrical characterization showed that the SNS heterojunction exhibits pronounced rectifying behavior, with a bias-dependent asymmetry factor reaching 6.6 × 103. The photodetection performance of the device was evaluated under illumination from white, blue, red, tungsten, and infrared LEDs. The device exhibited excellent photodetection characteristics across the visible region, achieving a maximum responsivity of 3.79/3.68 AW−1, external quantum efficiency of 1160/809%, noise equivalent power of 4.43 × 10−14 /4.57 × 10−14 WHz−1/2, and specific detectivity of 3.91 × 1012/3.79 × 1012 Jones under blue/white light illumination, confirming its practical relevance for VLC systems. In addition, frequency-dependent photocurrent measurements under modulated blue and white LED illumination revealed −3 dB bandwidths of approximately 775 Hz and 716 Hz, respectively, supporting the potential of the n-Si/p-NbSe2 photodiode for low-frequency VLC-related visible-light detection. Compared with previously reported photodiodes used in VLC and IR technologies, the present device demonstrated superior responsivity and EQE%, together with competitive NEP and detectivity. The enhanced performance is attributed to efficient photocarrier generation and collection across the Si/NbSe2 heterojunction. These results confirm that the fabricated SNS photodiode is a promising candidate for high-sensitivity and efficient visible light communication applications.