Understanding
the sensing mechanism and the structure–property
relationship of self-powered, ultrasensitive photodetectors and temperature
sensors is essential for their development. In this study, we report
the thermo-phototronic effect observed in double semiconductor heterostructures
capable of light harvesting and ultrasensitive temperature sensing.
To demonstrate the advances of using the double heterostructure, we
conducted a comparative study with a single heterostructure of highly
doped n-3C-SiC/p-Si to understand the light harvesting capability
and sensing performance. Our results show that the double n-3C-SiC/p-Si
heterostructure outperformed the single counterpart in both photovoltage
generation and sensitivity, confirming that the structural design
significantly impacts the sensing performance of the devices. Under
7.5 mW/cm2 illumination, the measured voltage in the double
structure changed by 21 mV under a 0.2 K temperature gradient, corresponding
to an ultrahigh sensitivity of 110 mV/K. This sensitivity is more
than 300 times higher than that of 0.3 mV/K observed in the single
heterostructure. The underlying physics is attributed to the structural
design of the double n-3C-SiC/p-Si heterostructure that controls charge
carrier diffusion from the illuminated electrode to the other, resulting
in a high photovoltage. These findings demonstrate that using the
double n-3C-SiC/p-Si heterostructures can significantly enhance the
sensitivity compared with using the single heterostructures, thereby
contributing significantly to the development of self-powered photodetectors
and temperature sensors.