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Highly efficient tunable photodetector with a bipolar response in van der Waals heterojunctions

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Abstract

The heterojunction integration of two-dimensional (2D) materials via van der Waals (vdW) forces, unencumbered by lattice and processing constraints, constitutes an efficacious approach to enhance the overall optoelectronic performance of photodetectors, due to an assortment of distinctive light-matter interactions. Nonetheless, vdW heterojunction photodetectors based on transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDs) face an inevitable trade-off between low dark currents and high responsivity, curtailing the application potential of myriad novel optoelectronic components in sensing, spectral, and communication systems. In this study, we present the successful actualization of a highly sensitive, self-powered, and gate-tunable bipolar response photodetector. The mechanisms underlying photocurrent generation were scrutinized via bias-, power-, and position-dependent mapping photoresponse measurements, identifying the photovoltaic effect, which is attributable to the Schottky junction’s built-in electric field, as the predominant mechanism. The prototype Au-WS2-graphene photodetector exhibits a remarkable light on/off ratio of 1.2 × 106, a specific detectivity of 6.12 × 1011 cm Hz1/2 W−1 with 20 μs response time at 638 nm. The wide gate-tunable responsivity provides an adjustability scope, ranging from 0.9 to 3.1 A W−1. Notably, the device demonstrates an exceptional linear photocurrent response, with a linear dynamic range (LDR) value approximating 130 dB, which significantly surpasses that of other photodetectors based on TMDs.

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Author notes

  1. These authors contributed equally to this work.

Authors and Affiliations

  1. College of Physics and Optoelectronic Engineering, Hangzhou Institute for Advanced Study, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Hangzhou, 310024, China

    ChaoFan Shi, Shi Zhang, KeNing Xiao, LiBo Zhang, Li Han, YuLin Zhu, WeiWei Tang, ChangLong Liu, GuanHai Li & XiaoShuang Chen

  2. State Key Laboratory of Infrared Physics, Shanghai Institute of Technical Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai, 200083, China

    Shi Zhang, LiBo Zhang, Li Han, GuanHai Li & XiaoShuang Chen

Authors
  1. ChaoFan Shi
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  2. Shi Zhang
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  3. KeNing Xiao
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  4. LiBo Zhang
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  5. Li Han
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  6. YuLin Zhu
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  7. WeiWei Tang
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  8. ChangLong Liu
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  9. GuanHai Li
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  10. XiaoShuang Chen
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Corresponding authors

Correspondence to ChangLong Liu or GuanHai Li.

Additional information

This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant Nos. 62305077, 62222514, 61991440, and 62005249), the Youth Innovation Promotion Association of Chinese Academy of Sciences (Grant No. Y2021070), the Strategic Priority Research Program of Chinese Academy of Sciences (Grant No. XDB43010200), Shanghai Rising-Star Program (Grant No. 20QA1410400), Shanghai Science and Technology Committee (Grant Nos. 23ZR1482000, 20JC1416000, and 22JC1402900), the Natural Science Foundation of Zhejiang Province (Grant No. LR22F050004), Shanghai Municipal Science and Technology Major Project (Grant No. 2019SHZDZX01), Hangzhou West Science and Technology Innovation Corridor Youth Project, Excellent Postdoctoral Research Projects of Zhejiang Province (Grant No. ZJ2021019), the Open Fund of State Key Laboratory of Infrared Physics (Grant No. SITP-NLIST-YB-2023-13), and Zhejiang Provincial Natural Science Foundation (Grant No. LQ20F050005). We thank Westlake Center for Micro/Nano Fabrication for the facility support and technical assistance.

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The supporting information is available online at tech.scichina.com and link.springer.com. The supporting materials are published as submitted, without typesetting or editing. The responsibility for scientific accuracy and content remains entirely with the authors.

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Shi, C., Zhang, S., Xiao, K. et al. Highly efficient tunable photodetector with a bipolar response in van der Waals heterojunctions. Sci. China Technol. Sci. 67, 639–646 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11431-023-2546-2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11431-023-2546-2

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