Gate-Tunable Multiband van der Waals Photodetector and Polarization Sensor

A single photodetector with tunable detection wavelengths and polarization sensitivity can potentially be harnessed for diverse optical applications ranging from imaging and sensing to telecommunications. Such a device will require the combination of multiple material systems with different structures, band gaps, and photoelectrical responses, which is extremely difficult to engineer using traditional epitaxial films. Here, we develop a multifunctional and high-performance photosensor using all van der Waals materials. The device features a gate-tunable spectral response that is switchable between near-infrared/visible and short-/midwave infrared, as well as broad-band operation, at room temperature. The linear polarization sensitivity in the telecommunication O-band can also be directly modulated between horizontal, vertical, and nonpolarizing modes. These effects originate from the balance of photocurrent generation in two of the active layers that can be manipulated by an electric field. The photodetector features high detectivity (>109 cmHz1/2W-1) together with fast operation speed (∼1 MHz) and can be further exploited for dual visible and infrared imaging.

Interlayer Excitons in Transition Metal Dichalcogenide Semiconductors for 2D Optoelectronics

Optoelectronic materials that allow on-chip integrated light signal emitting, routing, modulation, and detection are crucial for the development of high-speed and high-throughput optical communication and computing technologies. Interlayer excitons in 2D van der Waals heterostructures, where electrons and holes are bounded by Coulomb interaction but spatially localized in different 2D layers, have recently attracted intense attention for their enticing properties and huge potential in device applications. Here, a general view of these 2D-confined hydrogen-like bosonic particles and the state-of-the-art developments with respect to the frontier concepts and prototypes is presented. Staggered type-II band alignment enables expansion of the interlayer direct bandgap from the intrinsic visible in monolayers up to the near- or even mid-infrared spectrum. Owing to large exciton binding energy, together with ultralong lifetime, room-temperature exciton devices and observation of quantum behaviors are demonstrated. With the rapid advances, it can be anticipated that future studies of interlayer excitons will not only allow the construction of all-exciton information processing circuits but will also continue to enrich the panoply of ideas on quantum phenomena.

High-Performance Mid-IR to Deep-UV van der Waals Photodetectors Capable of Local Spectroscopy at Room Temperature

The ability to perform broadband optical spectroscopy with subdiffraction-limit resolution is highly sought-after for a wide range of critical applications. However, sophisticated near-field techniques are currently required to achieve this goal. We bypass this challenge by demonstrating an extremely broadband photodetector based on a two-dimensional (2D) van der Waals heterostructure that is sensitive to light across over a decade in energy from the mid-infrared (MIR) to deep-ultraviolet (DUV) at room temperature. The devices feature high detectivity (>10⁹ cm Hz^1/2 W^-1) together with high bandwidth (2.1 MHz). The active area can be further miniaturized to submicron dimensions, far below the diffraction limit for the longest detectable wavelength of 4.1 μm, enabling such devices for facile measurements of local optical properties on atomic-layer-thickness samples placed in close proximity. This work can lead to the development of low-cost and high-throughput photosensors for hyperspectral imaging at the nanoscale.

Ultrathin All-2D Lateral Graphene/GaS/Graphene UV Photodetectors by Direct CVD Growth

UV-sensitive lateral all-two-dimensional (2D) photodetecting devices are produced by growing the large band gap layered GaS between graphene electrode pairs directly using chemical vapor deposition methods. The use of prepatterned graphene electrode pairs on the Si wafer enables more than 200 devices to be fabricated simultaneously. We show that the surface chemistry of the substrate during GaS leads to selective growth in graphene gaps, forming the lateral heterostructures, rather than on the surface of graphene. The graphene/GaS/graphene lateral photodetecting devices are demonstrated to be sensitive to UV light only, with no measurable response to visible light. Furthermore, we demonstrate UV-band discrimination in photosensing, with measured photocurrents only produced for middle-UV and not for near-UV wavelength regions. The detection limit could reach down to 2.61 μW/cm² with a photoresponsivity as high as 11.7 A/W and a photo gain of 53.7 under 270 nm excitation. Gate-dependent modulation of the photocurrent is also demonstrated. The photodetectors exhibit long-term stability and reproducible ON-OFF switching behavior, with a response time lower than 60 ms. These results provide insights into how ultrathin UV sensing devices can be created using only 2D materials by exploiting large band gap 2D semiconductors such as GaS.