Current-Voltage Characteristics of Nb₂O₅ nanoporous via light illumination

This work discussed the effect of light on I-V characteristics of anodized niobium pentoxide (Nb₂O₅) which formed nanoporous structure film. The structure was synthesized by anodizing niobium foils in glycerol based solution with 10 wt% supplied by two different voltages, 5V and 10V. The anodized foils that contained Nb₂O₅ film were then annealed to obtain an orthorhombic phase for 30 minutes at 450°C. The metal contact used for I-V testing was platinum (Pt) and it was deposited using thermal evaporator at 30nm thickness. I-V tests were conducted under different condition; dark and illumination to study the effect of light on I-V characteristics of anodized nanoporous Nb₂O₅. Higher anodization voltage and longer anodization time resulted in higher pore dispersion and larger pore size causing the current to increase. The increase of conductivity in I-V behaviour of Nb₂O₅ device is also affected by the illumination test as higher light intensity caused space charge region width to increase, thus making it easier for electron transfer between energy band gap.