Nonvolatile and tunable switching of lateral photo-voltage triggered by laser and electric pulse in metal dusted metal-oxide-semiconductor structures

Owing to the innate stabilization of built-in potential in p–n junction or metal-oxide-semiconductor structure, the sensitivity and linearity of most lateral photovoltaic effect (LPE) devices is always fixed after fabrication. Here we report a nonvolatile and tunable switching effect of lateral photo-voltage (LPV) in Cu dusted ultrathin metal-oxide-semiconductor structure. With the stimulation of electric pulse and local illumination, the sensitivity and linearity of LPV can be adjusted up and down in a nonvolatile manner. This phenomenon is attributed to a controllable change of the Schottky barrier formed between the metal layer and silicon substrate, including the consequent change of film resistivity. This work may widely improve the performance of existing LPE-based devices and suggest new applications for LPE in other areas.