Demonstration of a low power and high-speed graphene/silicon heterojunction near-infrared photodetector.

The structure and process of the graphene/Si heterojunction near-infrared photodetector were optimized to enhance the operating speed limit. The introduction of a well-designed structure improved the rise time from 12.6 µs to 115 ns, albeit at the expense of the responsivity, which decreased from 1.25 A W-1 to 0.56 A W-1. Similarly, the falling time was improved from 38 µs to 288 ns with a sacrifice in responsivity from 1.25 A W-1 to 0.29 A W-1, achieved through the introduction of Ge-induced defect-recombination centers within the well. Through a judicious well design and the introduction of recombination defect centers, the minimum pulse width could be improved from 50.6 µs to 435 ns, facilitating 2 MHz operation. This represents more than 100 times increase compared to previously reported graphene and graphene/Si hybrid photodetectors.

Towards large scale integration of MoS2/graphene heterostructure with ALD-grown MoS2.

In the pursuit of ultrathin and highly sensitive photodetectors, a promising approach involves leveraging the combination of light-sensitive two-dimensional (2D) semiconducting transition-metal dichalcogenides, such as MoS2and the high electrical conductivity of graphene. Over the past decade, exfoliated 2D materials and electron-beam lithography have been used extensively to demonstrate feasibility on single devices. But for these devices to be used in the real-world systems, it is necessary to demonstrate good device performance similar to lab-based devices with repeatability of the results from device to device and a path to large scale manufacturing. To work in this way, a fabrication process of MoS2/graphene vertical heterostructures with a wafer-scale integration in a CMOS compatible foundry environment is evaluated here. Large-scale atomic layer deposition on 8 inch silicon wafers is used for the growth of MoS2layers which are then transferred on a 4 inch graphene-based wafer. The MoS2/graphene phototransistors are fabricated collectively, achieving a minimum channel length of 10µm. The results measured on dozen of devices demonstrate a photoresponsivity of 50 A W-1and a remarkable sensitivity as low as 10 nW at 660 nm. These results not only compete with lab-based photodetectors made of chemical vapor deposition grown MoS2layers transferred on graphene, but also pave the way for the large-scale integration of these emerging 2D heterostructures in optoelectronic devices and sensors.

Perovskite multifunctional logic gates via bipolar photoresponse of single photodetector.

The explosive demand for a wide range of data processing has sparked interest towards a new logic gate platform as the existing electronic logic gates face limitations in accurate and fast computing. Accordingly, optoelectronic logic gates (OELGs) using photodiodes are of significant interest due to their broad bandwidth and fast data transmission, but complex configuration, power consumption, and low reliability issues are still inherent in these systems. Herein, we present a novel all-in-one OELG based on the bipolar spectral photoresponse characteristics of a self-powered perovskite photodetector (SPPD) having a back-to-back p+-i-n-p-p+ diode structure. Five representative logic gates ("AND", "OR", "NAND", "NOR", and "NOT") are demonstrated with only a single SPPD via the photocurrent polarity control. For practical applications, we propose a universal OELG platform of integrated 8 × 8 SPPD pixels, demonstrating the 100% accuracy in five logic gate operations irrelevant to current variation between pixels.

High Gain and Broadband Absorption Graphene Photodetector Decorated with Bi2Te3 Nanowires.

A graphene photodetector decorated with Bi2Te3 nanowires (NWs) with a high gain of up to 3 × 104 and wide bandwidth window (400-2200 nm) has been demonstrated. The photoconductive gain was improved by two orders of magnitude compared to the gain of a photodetector using a graphene/Bi2Te3 nanoplate junction. Additionally, the position of photocurrent generation was investigated at the graphene/Bi2Te3 NWs junction. Eventually, with low bandgap Bi2Te3 NWs and a graphene junction, the photoresponsivity improved by 200% at 2200 nm (~0.09 mA/W).

Gate-Modulated Ultrasensitive Visible and Near-Infrared Photodetection of Oxygen Plasma-Treated WSe2 Lateral pn-Homojunctions.

We investigate the development of gate-modulated tungsten diselenide (WSe2)-based lateral pn-homojunctions for visible and near-infrared photodetector applications via an effective oxygen (O2) plasma treatment. O2 plasma acts to induce the p-type WSe2 for the otherwise n-type WSe2 by forming a tungsten oxide (WOx) layer upon O2 plasma treatment. The WSe2 lateral pn-homojunctions displayed an enhanced photoresponse and resulted in open-circuit voltage (VOC) and short-circuit current (ISC) originating from the pn-junction formed after O2 plasma treatment. We further notice that the amplitude of the photocurrent can be modulated by different gate biases. The fabricated WSe2 pn-homojunctions exhibit greater photoresponse with photoresponsivities (ratio of the photocurrent and incident laser power) of 250 and 2000 mA/W, high external quantum efficiency values (%, total number of charge carriers generated for the number of incident photons on photodetectors) of 97 and 420%, and superior detectivity values (magnitude of detector sensitivity) of 7.7 × 109 and 7.2 × 1010 Jones upon illumination with visible (520 nm) and near-infrared lasers (852 nm), respectively, at low bias (Vg = 0 V and Vd = 1 V) at room temperature, demonstrating very high-performance in the IR region superior to the contending two-dimensional material-based photonic devices. These superior optoelectronic properties are attributed to the junctions induced by O2 plasma doping, which facilitate the effective carrier generation and separation of photocarriers with applied external drain bias upon strong light absorption.

Tunable in-plane thermal conductivity of a single PEDOT:PSS nanotube.

Understanding the mechanism of thermal energy transport in a single nanotube (NT) is essential for successfully engineering nanostructured conducting polymers to apply to thermoelectrics or flexible electronic devices. We report the characterization of the in-plane thermal energy transport in a single poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) polystyrene sulfonate (PEDOT:PSS) NT via direct measurement of the in-plane thermal conductivity (κ). We also demonstrate that the in-plane κ of PEDOT:PSS NT can be tuned within the range of 0.19 to 1.92 W·m-1·K-1 merely by changing the solvent used to treat the NTs in the post-fabrication stage. The in-plane thermal energy transport in a pristine NT, with its low in-plane κ, is primarily due to phonons; in a sulfuric acid-treated NT however, significant electronic contributions lead to a high in-plane κ. The present study will contribute to understanding the mechanism of thermal energy transport in highly disordered structures, such as conducting polymers, and to designing highly efficient polymer-based devices in which in-plane κ plays a pivotal role in determining the energy conversion efficiency.

A negative electrocaloric effect in an antiferroelectric zirconium dioxide thin film.

A large negative electrocaloric effect is demonstrated in an antiferroelectric ZrO2 thin film with 8 nm thickness deposited by atomic layer deposition. An adiabatic temperature change as high as ΔT = -31 K is obtained for an electric field change of ΔE = 3.45 MV cm-1 at an ambient temperature of 413 K. Moreover, the ZrO2 thin film shows enhanced stability as demonstrated by endurance and Preisach density maps. Due to its high phase transition temperature, high thermal stability, high scalability and full CMOS compatibility, ZrO2 is proposed as a promising candidate for future multilayer electrocaloric and solid-state cooling devices.

Operation Mechanism of a MoS2/BP Heterojunction FET.

The electrical characteristics and operation mechanism of a molybdenum disulfide/black phosphorus (MoS2/BP) heterojunction device are investigated herein. Even though this device showed a high on-off ratio of over 1 × 107, with a lower subthreshold swing of ~54 mV/dec and a 1fA level off current, its operating mechanism is closer to a junction field-effect transistor (FET) than a tunneling FET. The off-current of this device is governed by the depletion region in the BP layer, and the band-to-band tunneling current does not contribute to the rapid turn-on and extremely low off-current.

Gate-Controlled Graphene-Silicon Schottky Junction Photodetector.

Various photodetectors showing extremely high photoresponsivity have been frequently reported, but many of these photodetectors could not avoid the simultaneous amplification of dark current. A gate-controlled graphene-silicon Schottky junction photodetector that exhibits a high on/off photoswitching ratio (≈104 ), a very high photoresponsivity (≈70 A W-1 ), and a low dark current in the order of µA cm-2 in a wide wavelength range (395-850 nm) is demonstrated. The photoresponsivity is ≈100 times higher than that of existing commercial photodetectors, and 7000 times higher than that of graphene-field-effect transistor-based photodetectors, while the dark current is similar to or lower than that of commercial photodetectors. This result can be explained by a unique gain mechanism originating from the difference in carrier transport characteristics of silicon and graphene.

Tunable graphene doping by modulating the nanopore geometry on a SiO2/Si substrate.

A tunable graphene doping method utilizing a SiO2/Si substrate with nanopores (NP) was introduced. Laser interference lithography (LIL) using a He-Cd laser (λ = 325 nm) was used to prepare pore size- and pitch-controllable NP SiO2/Si substrates. Then, bottom-contact graphene field effect transistors (G-FETs) were fabricated on the NP SiO2/Si substrate to measure the transfer curves. The graphene transferred onto the NP SiO2/Si substrate showed relatively n-doped behavior compared to the graphene transferred onto a flat SiO2/Si substrate, as evidenced by the blue-shift of the 2D peak position (∼2700 cm-1) in the Raman spectra due to contact doping. As the porosity increased within the substrate, the Dirac voltage shifted to a more positive or negative value, depending on the initial doping type (p- or n-type, respectively) of the contact doping. The Dirac voltage shifts with porosity were ascribed mainly to the compensation for the reduced capacitance owing to the SiO2-air hetero-structured dielectric layer within the periodically aligned nanopores capped by the suspended graphene (electrostatic doping). The hysteresis (Dirac voltage difference during the forward and backward scans) was reduced when utilizing an NP SiO2/Si substrate with smaller pores and/or a low porosity because fewer H2O or O2 molecules could be trapped inside the smaller pores.

Sulfur vacancy-induced reversible doping of transition metal disulfides via hydrazine treatment.

Chemical doping of transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDCs) has drawn significant interest because of its applicability to the modification of electrical and optical properties of TMDCs. This is of fundamental and technological importance for high-efficiency electronic and optoelectronic devices. Here, we present a simple and facile route to reversible and controllable modulation of the electrical and optical properties of WS2 and MoS2via hydrazine doping and sulfur annealing. Hydrazine treatment of WS2 improves the field-effect mobilities, on/off current ratios, and photoresponsivities of the devices. This is due to the surface charge transfer doping of WS2 and the sulfur vacancies formed by its reduction, which result in an n-type doping effect. The changes in the electrical and optical properties are fully recovered when the WS2 is annealed in an atmosphere of sulfur. This method for reversible modulation can be applied to other transition metal disulfides including MoS2, which may enable the fabrication of two-dimensional electronic and optoelectronic devices with tunable properties and improved performance.

Bifunctional sensing characteristics of chemical vapor deposition synthesized atomic-layered MoS2.

Two-dimensional (2D) molybdenum disulfide (MoS2) atomic layers have a strong potential to be adopted for 2D electronic components due to extraordinary and novel properties not available in their bulk foams. Unique properties of the MoS2, including quasi-2D crystallinity, ultrahigh surface-to-volume, and a high absorption coefficient, have enabled high-performance sensor applications. However, implementation of only a single-functional sensor presents a limitation for various advanced multifunctional sensor applications within a single device. Here, we demonstrate the charge-transfer-based sensitive (detection of 120 ppb of NO2) and selective gas-sensing capability of the chemical vapor deposition synthesized MoS2 and good photosensing characteristics, including moderate photoresponsivity (∼71 mA/W), reliable photoresponse, and rapid photoswitching (<500 ms). A bifunctional sensor within a single MoS2 device to detect photons and gas molecules in sequence is finally demonstrated, paving a way toward a versatile sensing platform for a futuristic multifunctional sensor.

Charge-transfer-based gas sensing using atomic-layer MoS2.

Two-dimensional (2D) molybdenum disulphide (MoS2) atomic layers have a strong potential to be used as 2D electronic sensor components. However, intrinsic synthesis challenges have made this task difficult. In addition, the detection mechanisms for gas molecules are not fully understood. Here, we report a high-performance gas sensor constructed using atomic-layered MoS2 synthesised by chemical vapour deposition (CVD). A highly sensitive and selective gas sensor based on the CVD-synthesised MoS2 was developed. In situ photoluminescence characterisation revealed the charge transfer mechanism between the gas molecules and MoS2, which was validated by theoretical calculations. First-principles density functional theory calculations indicated that NO2 and NH3 molecules have negative adsorption energies (i.e., the adsorption processes are exothermic). Thus, NO2 and NH3 molecules are likely to adsorb onto the surface of the MoS2. The in situ PL characterisation of the changes in the peaks corresponding to charged trions and neutral excitons via gas adsorption processes was used to elucidate the mechanisms of charge transfer between the MoS2 and the gas molecules.