Chemically doped-graphene FET photodetector enhancement via controlled carrier modulation with an iron(III)-chloride

Graphene is an excellent material among the family of 2D materials due to its electronic and optoelectronic properties. The intentional modification of its electronic structure via doping processes holds immense significance regarding tailoring its properties for specific applications. We comprehensively investigated p-type doping in few-layer graphene field-effect transistors (FETs) on SiO2/Si substrates by utilizing Iron(III)-chloride (FeCl3) dopant solutions with varying concentrations that range from 5 mM to 50 mM in this study. The successful doping was confirmed via a meticulous Raman spectroscopy analysis, which revealed notable shifts in the peak positions and peak broadening post-doping. Electrical measurements, which include transfer curves at a fixed biasing voltage, provided further confirmation, which demonstrates a distinctive shift in the Dirac point from −1 V to +25 V when the FeCl3 concentrations were changed from 5 mM to 50 mM. The impact of doping on the photoresponse of the graphene device was systematically explored. The device exhibited a significant increase in responsivity and external quantum efficiency following the p-type doping, which indicates an enhanced performance in photodetection. This research validates the successful p-type doping of graphene and underscores its implications regarding optimizing the electrical and optoelectronic properties of graphene-based devices, which confirms its potential for advanced applications for electronic and optoelectronic technologies.