All-inorganic perovskites are considered to be one of the most appealing research hotspots in the field of perovskite photovoltaics in the past 3 years due to their superior thermal stability compared to their organic-inorganic hybrid counterparts. The power-conversion efficiency has reached 17.06% and the number of important publications is ever increasing. Here, the progress of inorganic perovskites is systematically highlighted, covering materials design, preparation of high-quality perovskite films, and avoidance of phase instabilities. Inorganic perovskites, nanocrystals, quantum dots, and lead-free compounds are discussed and the corresponding device performances are reviewed, which have been realized on both rigid and flexible substrates. Methods for stabilization of the cubic phase of low-bandgap inorganic perovskites are emphasized, which is a prerequisite for highly efficient and stable solar cells. In addition, energy loss mechanisms both in the bulk of the perovskite and at the interfaces of perovskite and charge selective layers are unraveled. Reported approaches to reduce these charge-carrier recombination losses are summarized and complemented by methods proposed from our side. Finally, the potential of inorganic perovskites as stable absorbers is assessed, which opens up new perspectives toward the commercialization of inorganic perovskite solar cells.

Review on Recent Progress of All-Inorganic Metal Halide Perovskites and Solar Cells.

Perovskite‐Based Phototransistors and Hybrid Photodetectors

Two-dimensional transition metal dichalcogenides (2D TMDs) have attracted much attention in the field of optoelectronics due to their tunable bandgaps, strong interaction with light and tremendous capability for developing diverse van der Waals heterostructures (vdWHs) with other materials. Molybdenum disulfide (MoS2) atomic layers which exhibit high carrier mobility and optical transparency are very suitable for developing ultra-broadband photodetectors to be used from surveillance and healthcare to optical communication. This review provides a brief introduction to TMD-based photodetectors, exclusively focused on MoS2-based photodetectors. The current research advances show that the photoresponse of atomic layered MoS2 can be significantly improved by boosting its charge carrier mobility and incident light absorption via forming MoS2 based plasmonic nanostructures, halide perovskites–MoS2 heterostructures, 2D–0D MoS2/quantum dots (QDs) and 2D–2D MoS2 hybrid vdWHs, chemical doping, and surface functionalization of MoS2 atomic layers. By utilizing these different integration strategies, MoS2 hybrid heterostructure-based photodetectors exhibited remarkably high photoresponsivity raging from mA W−1 up to 1010 A W−1, detectivity from 107 to 1015 Jones and a photoresponse time from seconds (s) to nanoseconds (10−9 s), varying by several orders of magnitude from deep-ultraviolet (DUV) to the long-wavelength infrared (LWIR) region. The flexible photodetectors developed from MoS2-based hybrid heterostructures with graphene, carbon nanotubes (CNTs), TMDs, and ZnO are also discussed. In addition, strain-induced and self-powered MoS2 based photodetectors have also been summarized. The factors affecting the figure of merit of a very wide range of MoS2-based photodetectors have been analyzed in terms of their photoresponsivity, detectivity, response speed, and quantum efficiency along with their measurement wavelengths and incident laser power densities. Conclusions and the future direction are also outlined on the development of MoS2 and other 2D TMD-based photodetectors.

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A review of molybdenum disulfide (MoS2) based photodetectors: from ultra-broadband, self-powered to flexible devices

Two-dimensional crystals have emerged as a class of materials that may impact future electronic technologies. Experimentally identifying and characterizing new functional two-dimensional materials is challenging, but also potentially rewarding. Here, we fabricate field-effect transistors based on few-layer black phosphorus crystals with thickness down to a few nanometres. Reliable transistor performance is achieved at room temperature in samples thinner than 7.5 nm, with drain current modulation on the order of 10(5) and well-developed current saturation in the I-V characteristics. The charge-carrier mobility is found to be thickness-dependent, with the highest values up to ∼ 1,000 cm(2) V(-1) s(-1) obtained for a thickness of ∼ 10 nm. Our results demonstrate the potential of black phosphorus thin crystals as a new two-dimensional material for applications in nanoelectronic devices.

http://absimage.aps.org/image/MAR14/MWS_MAR14-2013-005031.pdf

Black Phosphorus Field-effect Transistors

Uniform nucleation and epitaxy of bilayer molybdenum disulfide on sapphire

Vertical transistors—in which the channel length is determined by the thickness of the semiconductor—are of interest in the development of next-generation electronic devices. However, short-channel vertical devices are difficult to fabricate, because the high-energy metallization process typically results in damage to the contact region. Here we show that molybdenum disulfide (MoS2) vertical transistors with channel lengths down to one atomic layer can be created using a low-energy van der Waals metal integration technique. The approach uses prefabricated metal electrodes that are mechanically laminated and transferred on top of MoS2/graphene vertical heterostructures, leading to vertical field-effect transistors with on–off ratios of 26 and 103 for channel lengths of 0.65 nm and 3.60 nm, respectively. Using scanning tunnelling microscopy and low-temperature electrical measurements, we show that the improved electrical performance is the result of a high-quality metal–semiconductor interface, with minimized direct tunnelling current and Fermi-level pinning effect. The approach can also be extended to other layered materials (tungsten diselenide and tungsten disulfide), resulting in sub-3-nm p-type and n-type vertical transistors. Molybdenum disulfide vertical transistors with channel lengths down to one atomic layer can be made with metal electrodes using a mechanical van der Waals transfer process that leads to a high-quality metal–semiconductor interface.

Transferred van der Waals metal electrodes for sub-1-nm MoS2 vertical transistors

As compared with epitaxial semiconductor devices, two-dimensional (2D) heterostructures offer alternative facile platforms for many optoelectronic devices. Among them, photovoltaic based photodetectors can give fast response, while the photogate devices can lead to high responsivity. Here, we report a 2D photogate photodiode, which combines the benefits of 2D black phosphorus/MoS2 photodiodes with the emerging potential of perovskite, to achieve both fast response and high responsivity. This device architecture is constructed based on the fast photovoltaic operation together with the high-gain photogating effect. Under reverse bias condition, the device exhibits high responsivity (11 A/W), impressive detectivity (1.3 × 1012 Jones), fast response (150/240 μs), and low dark current (3 × 10-11 A). All these results are already much better in nearly all aspects of performance than the previously reported 2D photodiodes operating in reverse bias, achieving the optimal balance between all figure-of-merits. Importantly, with a zero bias, the device can also yield high detectivity (3 × 1011 Jones), ultrahigh light on/off ratio (3 × 107), and extremely high external quantum efficiency (80%). This device architecture thus has a promise for high-efficiency photodetection and photovoltaic energy conversion.

Perovskite/Black Phosphorus/MoS2 Photogate Reversed Photodiodes with Ultrahigh Light On/Off Ratio and Fast Response

The scaling down of switching media encounters high leakage current in the traditional oxide material based memristors, resulting in high power consumption of chips. Two-dimensional (2D) materials promise an ultimate device scaling down to atomic layer thickness. Herein, black phosphorus (BP) and its self-assembly phosphorous oxide (BP) memristors are constructed, which leverages the high on/off ratio operation of oxides and low leakage current of 2D materials with high performance. The memristors exhibit reproducible and reliable switching characteristics with the on/off ratio >107 and data retention >104 s. Depending on the high reproducibility, basic “AND” and “OR” gates have been constructed on flexible substrates. Moreover, on the basis of the symmetry and linearity of conductance in the devices, the neural network simulation for supervised learning presents an online learning accuracy of 91.4%. This work opens an avenue for future flexible electronics.

High on/off ratio black phosphorus based memristor with ultra-thin phosphorus oxide layer

Molybdenum disulfide transistors with enlarged van der Waals gaps at their dielectric interface via oxygen accumulation

Two-dimensional (2D) semiconductors have attracted considerable attention in recent years. However, to date, there is still no effective approach to produce large-scale monolayers while retaining their intrinsic properties. Here, we report a simple mechanical exfoliation method to produce large-scale and high-quality 2D semiconductors, by designing an atomically flat Au-mesh film as the peeling tape. Using our prefabricated mesh tape, the limited contact region (between the 2D crystal and Au) could provide enough adhesion to mechanically exfoliate uniform 2D monolayers, and the noncontact region (between the mesh holes and monolayers) ensures weak interaction to mechanically release the 2D monolayers on desired substrates. Together, we demonstrate a scalable method to dry exfoliate various 2D monolayer arrays onto different substrates without involving any solutions or contaminations, representing the optimization between material yield, scalability, and quality. Furthermore, detailed optical and electrical characterizations are conducted to confirm their intrinsic quality. With the ability to mechanically exfoliate various 2D arrays and further restacking them, we have demonstrated large-scale van der Waals heterostructure arrays through layer-to-layer assembling. Our study offers a simple and scalable method for dry exfoliating 2D monolayer and heterostructure arrays with intrinsic material quality, which could be crucial to accelerate fundamental investigations as well as practical applications of proof-of-concepts devices.

Jun Lin

Papers

Transferred van der Waals metal electrodes for sub-1-nm MoS2 vertical transistors

Perovskite/Black Phosphorus/MoS2 Photogate Reversed Photodiodes with Ultrahigh Light On/Off Ratio and Fast Response

High on/off ratio black phosphorus based memristor with ultra-thin phosphorus oxide layer

Molybdenum disulfide transistors with enlarged van der Waals gaps at their dielectric interface via oxygen accumulation

Dry Exfoliation of Large-Area 2D Monolayer and Heterostructure Arrays.