Thickness-dependent photoelectric properties of MoS2/Si heterostructure solar cells

Silver Decoration of Vertically Aligned MoS2-MoOx Nanosheets: A Comprehensive XPS Investigation

This study investigates the simultaneous decoration of vertically aligned molybdenum disulfide nanostructure (VA-MoS2) with Ag nanoparticles (NPs) and nitrogen functionalization. Nitrogen functionalization was achieved through physical vapor deposition (PVD) DC-magnetron sputtering using nitrogen as a reactive gas, aiming to induce p-type behavior in MoS2. The utilization of reactive sputtering resulted in the growth of three-dimensional silver structures on the surface of MoS2, promoting the formation of silver nanoparticles. A comprehensive characterization was conducted to assess surface modifications and analyze chemical and structural changes. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) showed the presence of silver on the MoS2 surface. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) confirmed successful decoration with silver nanoparticles, showing that deposition time affects the size and distribution of the silver on the MoS2 surface.

Investigation on Contact Properties of 2D van der Waals Semimetallic 1T-TiS2/MoS2 Heterojunctions

Two-dimensional transition metal dichalcogenides (2D TMDCs) are considered promising alternatives to Si as channel materials because of the possibility of retaining their superior electronic transport properties even at atomic body thicknesses. However, the realization of high-performance 2D TMDC field-effect transistors remains a challenge owing to Fermi-level pinning (FLP) caused by gap states and the inherent high Schottky barrier height (SBH) within the metal contact and channel layer. This study demonstrates that high-quality van der Waals (vdW) heterojunction-based contacts can be formed by depositing semimetallic TiS2 onto monolayer (ML) MoS2. After confirming the successful formation of a TiS2/ML MoS2 heterojunction, the contact properties of vdW semimetal TiS2 were thoroughly investigated. With clean interfaces of the TiS2/ML MoS2 heterojunctions, atomic-layer-deposited TiS2 can induce gap-state saturation and suppress FLP. Consequently, compared with conventional evaporated metal electrodes, the TiS2/ML MoS2 heterojunctions exhibit a lower SBH of 8.54 meV and better contact properties. This, in turn, substantially improves the overall performance of the device, including its on-current, subthreshold swing, and threshold voltage. Furthermore, we believe that our proposed strategy for vdW-based contact formation will contribute to the development of 2D materials used in next-generation electronics.

Large area CVD-grown vertically and horizontally oriented MoS2 nanostructures as SERS biosensors for single molecule detection

Surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) has attracted extensive attention for its rapid, ultra-sensitive, non-destructive and label-free fingerprint detection of trace molecules. Recently, two-dimensional transition metal dichalcogenides have been investigated as SERS substrates owing to their low cost, simple synthesis, excellent optical behavior, tunable bandgap, high carrier mobility and good biocompatibility. Here, we have synthesized 2H-MoS2 nanostructures of different morphologies (vertically and horizontally oriented) via the chemical vapor deposition (CVD) method on different substrates (FTO-coated glass, Si and SiO2-Si) and utilized them as SERS substrates for the detection of bilirubin and vitamin B12 biomolecules. The strong vibronic coupling within the charge transfer (CT) process leads to photo-induced charge transfer (PICT) resonance, showing enhanced SERS activity. This CT mechanism is further confirmed by observing quenching of the room temperature PL spectra and enhanced SERS signals of biomolecules over SERS substrates. To the best of our knowledge, the detection limit in this work (10-11 M for bilirubin and 10-8 M for vitamin B12) is considerably higher than previously reported values. The improved efficiency of the PICT process can be achieved at low temperature, and this is confirmed when performing low temperature-dependent photoluminescence (PL) studies on SERS substrates. Furthermore, we also demonstrated enhanced SERS activity at low temperature on CVD-grown pristine MoS2 films over different substrates for biomolecule detection for the first time, attributing this activity to the enhanced PICT process at low temperature.

Enhanced NH3 Sensing Performance of Mo Cluster-MoS2 Nanocomposite Thin Films via the Sulfurization of Mo6 Cluster Iodides Precursor

The high-performance defect-rich MoS₂ dominated by sulfur vacancies as well as Mo-rich environments have been extensively studied in many fields, such as nitrogen reduction reactions, hydrogen evolution reactions, as well as sensing devices for NH₃, which are attributed to the under-coordinated Mo atoms playing a significant role as catalytic sites in the defect area. In this study, the Mo cluster-MoS₂ composite was creatively synthesized through a one-step sulfurization process via H₂/H₂S gas flow. The Mo₆ cluster iodides (MIs) coated on the fluorine-doped tin oxide (FTO) glass substrate via the electrophoretic deposition method (i.e., MI@FTO) were used as a precursor to form a thin-film nanocomposite. Investigations into the structure, reaction mechanism, and NH₃ gas sensing performance were carried out in detail. The results indicated that during the gas flowing, the decomposed Mo₆ cluster iodides played the role of template and precursor, forming complicated Mo cluster compounds and eventually producing MoS₂. These Mo cluster-MoS₂ thin-film nanocomposites were fabricated and applied as gas sensors for the first time. It turns out that after the sulfurization process, the response of MI@FTO for NH₃ gas increased three times while showing conversion from p-type to n-type semiconductor, which enhances their possibilities for future device applications.

Raytracing Modelling of Infrared Light Management Using Molybdenum Disulfide (MoS2) as a Back-Reflector Layer in a Silicon Heterojunction Solar Cell (SHJ)

The silicon heterojunction solar cell (SHJ) is considered the dominant state-of-the-art silicon solar cell technology due to its excellent passivation quality and high efficiency. However, SHJ’s light management performance is limited by its narrow optical absorption in long-wave near-infrared (NIR) due to the front, and back tin-doped indium oxide (ITO) layer’s free carrier absorption and reflection losses. Despite the light-trapping efficiency (LTE) schemes adopted by SHJ in terms of back surface texturing, the previous investigations highlighted the ITO layer as a reason for an essential long-wavelength light loss mechanism in SHJ solar cells. In this study, we propose the use of Molybdenum disulfide (MoS₂) as a way of improving back-reflection in SHJ. The text presents simulations of the optical response in the backside of the SHJ applying the Monte-Carlo raytracing method with a web-based Sunsolve high-precision raytracing tool. The solar cells’ electrical parameters were also resolved using the standard electrical equivalent circuit model provided by Sunsolve. The proposed structure geometry slightly improved the SHJ cell optical current density by ~0.37% (rel.), and hence efficiency (η) by about 0.4% (rel.). The SHJ cell efficiency improved by 21.68% after applying thinner back ITO of about 30 nm overlayed on ~1 nm MoS₂. The efficiency improvement following the application of MoS₂ is tentatively attributed to the increased NIR absorption in the silicon bulk due to the light constructive interface with the backside components, namely silver (Ag) and ITO. Study outcomes showed that improved SHJ efficiency could be further optimized by addressing front cell components, mainly front ITO and MoS₂ contact engineering.

MoS2/h-BN/Graphene Heterostructure and Plasmonic Effect for Self-Powering Photodetector: A Review

A photodetector converts optical signals to detectable electrical signals. Lately, self-powered photodetectors have been widely studied because of their advantages in device miniaturization and low power consumption, which make them preferable in various applications, especially those related to green technology and flexible electronics. Since self-powered photodetectors do not have an external power supply at zero bias, it is important to ensure that the built-in potential in the device produces a sufficiently thick depletion region that efficiently sweeps the carriers across the junction, resulting in detectable electrical signals even at very low-optical power signals. Therefore, two-dimensional (2D) materials are explored as an alternative to silicon-based active regions in the photodetector. In addition, plasmonic effects coupled with self-powered photodetectors will further enhance light absorption and scattering, which contribute to the improvement of the device's photocurrent generation. Hence, this review focuses on the employment of 2D materials such as graphene and molybdenum disulfide (MoS2) with the insertion of hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN) and plasmonic nanoparticles. All these approaches have shown performance improvement of photodetectors for self-powering applications. A comprehensive analysis encompassing 2D material characterization, theoretical and numerical modelling, device physics, fabrication and characterization of photodetectors with graphene/MoS2 and graphene/h-BN/MoS2 heterostructures with plasmonic effect is presented with potential leads to new research opportunities.

High-responsivity broad-band sensing and photoconduction mechanism in direct-Gap α-In2Se3 nanosheet photodetectors

Photoconductivities (PCs) with high responsivity in two-dimensional (2D) diindium triselenide (In₂Se₃) nanostructures with α-phase hexagonal structure were studied. The In₂Se₃ nanosheet photodetectors fabricated by focused-ion beam technique exhibit broad spectral response with wavelength range from 300 nm to 1000 nm. The In₂Se₃ nanosheets achieve optimal responsivity of 720 A W^-1 in near-infrared region (808 nm), and detectivity of 2.2 × 10¹² Jones, which were higher than several 2D material photodetectors. The physical origins that result in high photoresponse in In₂Se₃ nanosheets such as carrier lifetime and mobility were also characterized by time-resolved PC and field-effect transistor measurements. The fast (hundred microseconds to milliseconds) and slow (seconds and longer) current rise or decay processes were both observed during the photoresponse. The narrowing (or relaxation) of depletion region and oxygen-sensitized photoconduction mechanism were suggested to be the causes of the efficient photoresponse in the In₂Se₃ nanostructure detectors. All these observations suggest that α-In₂Se₃ nanosheets could be a promising candidate for photosensitive material applications.