2D material based photodetectors have attracted many research projects due to their unique structures and excellent electronic and optoelectronic properties. These 2D materials, including semimetallic graphene, semiconducting black phosphorus, transition metal dichalcogenides, insulating hexagonal boron nitride, and their various heterostructures, show a wide distribution in bandgap values. To date, hundreds of photodetectors based on 2D materials have been reported. Here, a review of photodetectors based on 2D materials covering the detection spectrum from ultraviolet to infrared is presented. First, a brief insight into the detection mechanisms of 2D material photodetectors as well as introducing the figure-of-merits which are key factors for a reasonable comparison between different photodetectors is provided. Then, the recent progress on 2D material based photodetectors is reviewed. Particularly, the excellent performances such as broadband spectrum detection, ultrahigh photoresponsivity and sensitivity, fast response speed and high bandwidth, polarization-sensitive detection are pointed out on the basis of the state-of-the-art 2D photodetectors. Initial applications based on 2D material photodetectors are mentioned. Finally, an outlook is delivered, the challenges and future directions are discussed, and general advice for designing and realizing novel high-performance photodetectors is given to provide a guideline for the future development of this fast-developing field.

Progress, Challenges, and Opportunities for 2D Material Based Photodetectors

Nowadays, low-frequency electromagnetic interference (<2.0 GHz) remains a key core issue that plagues the effective attenuation performance of conventional absorption devices prepared via the component-morphology method (Strategy I). According to theoretical calculations, one fundamental solution is to develop a material that possesses a high e' but lower e″. Thus, it is attempted to control the dielectric values via applying an external electrical field, which inducts changes in the macrostructure toward a performance improvement (Strategy II). A sandwich-structured flexible electronic absorption device is designed using a carbon film electrode to conduct an external current. Simultaneously, an absorption layer that is highly responsive to an external voltage is selected via Strategy I. Relying on the synergistic effects from Strategies I and II, this device demonstrates an absorption value of more than 85% at 1.5-2.0 GHz with an applied voltage of 16 V while reducing the thickness to ≈5 mm. In addition, the device also shows a good absorption property at 25-150 °C. The method of utilizing an external voltage to break the intrinsic dielectric feature by modifying a traditional electronic absorption device is demonstrated for the first time and has great significance in solving the low-frequency electromagnetic interference issue.

A Voltage-Boosting Strategy Enabling a Low-Frequency, Flexible Electromagnetic Wave Absorption Device.

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New Frontiers on van der Waals Layered Metal Phosphorous Trichalcogenides

Recent Advances in the Functional 2D Photonic and Optoelectronic Devices

Nanoelectronic devices based on 2D materials are far from delivering their full theoretical performance potential due to the lack of scalable insulators. Amorphous oxides that work well in silicon technology have ill-defined interfaces with 2D materials and numerous defects, while 2D hexagonal boron nitride does not meet required dielectric specifications. The list of suitable alternative insulators is currently very limited. Thus, a radically different mindset with respect to suitable insulators for 2D technologies may be required. We review possible solution scenarios like the creation of clean interfaces, production of native oxides from 2D semiconductors and more intensive studies on crystalline insulators. The lack of scalable, high-quality insulators is a major problem hindering the progress on electronic devices built from 2D materials. Here, the authors review the current state-of-the-art and the future prospects of suitable insulators for 2D technologies.

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Insulators for 2D nanoelectronics: the gap to bridge.

Black phosphorus carbide (b-PC) is a new family of layered semiconducting material that has recently been predicted to have the lightest electrons and holes among all known 2D semiconductors, yielding a p-type mobility (≈105 cm2 V-1 s-1 ) at room temperature that is approximately five times larger than the maximum value in black phosphorus. Here, a high-performance composite few-layer b-PC field-effect transistor fabricated via a novel carbon doping technique which achieved a high hole mobility of 1995 cm2 V-1 s-1 at room temperature is reported. The absorption spectrum of this material covers an electromagnetic spectrum in the infrared regime not served by black phosphorus and is useful for range finding applications as the earth atmosphere has good transparency in this spectral range. Additionally, a low contact resistance of 289 Ω µm is achieved using a nickel phosphide alloy contact with an edge contacted interface via sputtering and thermal treatment.

Few-Layer Black Phosphorus Carbide Field-Effect Transistor via Carbon Doping.

Photodetectors with broadband detection capability are desirable for sensing applications in the coming age of the internet-of-things. Although 2D layered materials (2DMs) have been actively pursued due to their unique optical properties, by far only graphene and black arsenic phosphorus have the wide absorption spectrum that covers most molecular vibrational fingerprints. However, their reported responsivity and response time are falling short of the requirements needed for enabling simultaneous weak-signal and high-speed detections. Here, a novel 2DM, black phosphorous carbide (b-PC) with a wide absorption spectrum up to 8000 nm is synthesized and a b-PC phototransistor with a tunable responsivity and response time at an excitation wavelength of 2004 nm is demonstrated. The b-PC phototransistor achieves a peak responsivity of 2163 A W-1 and a shot noise equivalent power of 1.3 fW Hz-1/2 at 2004 nm. In addition, it is shown that a response time of 0.7 ns is tunable by the gating effect, which renders it versatile for high-speed applications. Under the same signal strength (i.e., excitation power), its performance in responsivity and detectivity in room temperature condition is currently ahead of recent top-performing photodetectors based on 2DMs that operate with a small bias voltage of 0.2 V.

A Black Phosphorus Carbide Infrared Phototransistor

Two-dimensional layered semiconductors such as molybdenum disulfide (MoS2) at the quantum limit are promising material for nanoelectronics and optoelectronics applications. Understanding the interface properties between the atomically thin MoS2 channel and gate dielectric is fundamentally important for enhancing the carrier transport properties. Here, we investigate the frequency dispersion mechanism in a metal-oxide-semiconductor capacitor (MOSCAP) with a monolayer MoS2 and an ultra-thin HfO2 high-k gate dielectric. We show that the existence of sulfur vacancies at the MoS2-HfO2 interface is responsible for the generation of interface states with a density (Dit) reaching ~7.03 × 1011 cm−2 eV−1. This is evidenced by a deficit S:Mo ratio of ~1.96 using X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) analysis, which deviates from its ideal stoichiometric value. First-principles calculations within the density-functional theory framework further confirms the presence of trap states due to sulfur deficiency, which exist within the MoS2 bandgap. This corroborates to a voltage-dependent frequency dispersion of ~11.5% at weak accumulation which decreases monotonically to ~9.0% at strong accumulation as the Fermi level moves away from the mid-gap trap states. Further reduction in Dit could be achieved by thermally diffusing S atoms to the MoS2-HfO2 interface to annihilate the vacancies. This work provides an insight into the interface properties for enabling the development of MoS2 devices with carrier transport enhancement.

Rui Jie Ng

Papers

Few-Layer Black Phosphorus Carbide Field-Effect Transistor via Carbon Doping.

A Black Phosphorus Carbide Infrared Phototransistor

Impact and Origin of Interface States in MOS Capacitor with Monolayer MoS 2 and HfO 2 High-k Dielectric