State-of-Art Thin-Film and Wide-Bandgap Semiconductor-Based Novel Photodetectors: Fabrication and Characterization
A special issue of Coatings (ISSN 2079-6412). This special issue belongs to the section "Surface Engineering for Energy Harvesting, Conversion, and Storage".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 15 December 2026 | Viewed by 158
Editor
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
Photodetectors serve as fundamental functional elements in optical communication, imaging, and sensing systems, environmental monitoring, deep-space exploration, and photonic integrated circuits. Recently, emerging material platforms—including nanostructured architectures, advanced thin-film processing techniques, and wide-bandgap semiconductors—have offered transformative pathways to overcome longstanding limitations of conventional photodetectors in spectral responsivity, detectivity, response speed, and operational stability. Corresponding advances in fabrication methodologies, physical characterization protocols, and application-oriented device engineering are progressing rapidly.
This Special Issue of Coatings is dedicated to the state-of-the-art development of nanostructured and thin-film photodetectors. It particularly emphasizes interdisciplinary research spanning materials design, scalable and reproducible fabrication, micro- and nanofabrication integration, structure–property–performance correlation analysis, underlying device physics, and practical application demonstrations. The goal is to curate high-quality original research articles, authoritative reviews, and timely perspectives that collectively advance scientific understanding and accelerate technological translation—thereby fostering a robust international forum for academic exchange and collaborative innovation in high-performance photodetection.
Topics of interest for publication include, but are not limited to, the following:
- Design, fabrication, and process optimization of nano-structured and thin-film-type optical detectors;
- Epitaxial growth, defect engineering, carrier dynamics, and device physics of wide-bandgap semiconductor photodetectors (e.g., GaN, AlGaN, β-Ga₂O₃, and SiC);
- Advanced characterization techniques (e.g., time-resolved spectroscopy, in situ TEM/XRD, and Kelvin probe force microscopy) and mechanistic insights into photoresponse behavior;
- Flexible, wearable, and integrated thin-film optical detectors and applications.
Dr. Jiangang Yu
Guest Editor
Manuscript Submission Information
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Keywords
- thin film
- photodetectors
- epitaxial growth
- wide-bandgap semiconductor
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