Progress and Insight of Van der Waals Heterostructures Containing Interlayer Transition for Near Infrared Photodetectors

Van der Waals (vdWs) heterostructures enable bandgap engineering of different 2D materials to realize the interlayer transition via type-II band alignment leading to broaden spectrum that is beyond the cut-off wavelength of individual 2D materials. Interlayer transition has a significant effect on the optoelectronic performance of vdWs heterostructure devices, and strong interlayer transition in 2D vdWs heterojunction is always demandable for sufficient charge transfer and rapid speed response. Herein, a state-of-the-art review is presented on recent progress on interlayer transition in vdWs heterostructures for near-infrared (NIR) photodetectors. First, the general synthesis techniques for vdWs heterostructures, band alignments in the vdWs heterostructures are provided. Then, the mechanism of interlayer transition in vdWs heterostructure and recent progress on interlayer transition in vdWs heterostructures for NIR photodetectors are summarized. Afterward, some worthy applications of NIR photodetectors are reviewed in related areas of this topic. At the last, an outlook, challenges, and future research directions of vdWs heterostructures for photodetectors at broaden response spectrum are presented.     

Strong Interlayer Transition in Few-Layer InSe/PdSe2 van der Waals Heterostructure for Near-Infrared Photodetection

Near infrared (NIR) photodetectors based on 2D materials are widely studied for their potential application in next generation sensing, thermal imaging, and optical communication. Construction of van der Waals (vdWs) heterostructure provides a tremendous degree of freedom to combine and extend the features of 2D materials, opening up new functionalities on photonic and optoelectronic devices. Herein, a type-II InSe/PdSe₂ vdWs heterostructure with strong interlayer transition for NIR photodetection is demonstrated. Strong interlayer transition between InSe and PdSe₂ is predicted via density functional theory calculation and confirmed by photoluminance spectroscopy and Kelvin probe force microscopy. The heterostructure exhibits highly sensitive photodetection in NIR region up to 1650 nm. The photoresponsivity, detectivity, and external quantum efficiency at this wavelength respectively reaches up to 58.8 A W⁻¹, 1 × 10¹⁰ Jones, and 4660%. The results suggest that the construction of vdWs heterostructure with strong interlayer transition is a promising strategy for infrared photodetection, and this work paves the way to developing high-performance optoelectronic devices based on 2D vdWs heterostructures.     

Van der Waals Integration Based on Two-Dimensional Materials for High-Performance Infrared Photodetectors

Infrared photodetectors have been widely applied in various fields, including thermal imaging, biomedical imaging, and communication. Van der Waals (vdW) integration based on 2D materials provides a new solution for high-performance infrared photodetectors due to the versatile device configurations and excellent photoelectric properties. In recent years, great progress has been made in infrared photodetectors based on vdW integration. In this review, recent progress in vdW integration-based infrared photodetectors is presented. First, the working mechanisms and advantages of photodetectors with different structures and band alignments are presented. Then, the recent progress of vdW integration-based infrared photodetectors is reviewed, focusing on 2D/nD (n  =  0, 1, 2, 3) vdW integration, and the band engineering as well as the performance of the photodetectors are discussed in detail. Finally, a summary is delivered, and the challenges and future directions of vdW integration-based infrared photodetectors are provided.     

Non-artificial Layered Heterostructure as Inch-size Single Crystal for Shortwave Polarized-Light Array Detector

Layered heterostructures of different 2D building blocks have invigorated the booming of 2D materials toward high-performance optoelectronic devices. However, contrary to the typical artificial multi-component form, the engineering of non-artificial layered heterostructure into single-phase crystals and resultant properties are largely overlooked. Here, for the first time, an inch-sized single crystal of a non-artificial layered heterostructure is exploited, (PbBr₂)₂(AMTP)₂PbBr₄ ( 1 , AMTP is 4-ammoniomethyltetrahydropyran), serving as polarization-sensitive candidate. Notably, it adopts an interleaved architecture of 2D perovskite slabs with the distinct non-perovskite lattice, thus forming a self-assembled perovskite-intergrowth layered heterostructure. This motif leads to new electronic transitions distributed across two sublattices and affords an inherent in-plane anisotropy ratio of ≈1.6, beyond some known inorganic materials (e.g., GeSe: 1.44; GeAs: 1.49). Combining this in-plane anisotropy and wide bandgap (≈2.9 eV), lateral crystal array of 1 enables shortwave polarized-light detection with ultrahigh responsivity and detectivity under weak illumination compared to some inorganic polarized detectors. As the first demonstration of inch-sized single crystals of non-artificial layered heterostructure, this study affords a new platform to explore candidates toward high-performance optoelectronic devices.     

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

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.     

Giant‐Enhanced SnS2 Photodetectors with Broadband Response through Oxygen Plasma Treatment

Layered tin disulfide (SnS₂) is a vital semiconductor with versatile functionality due to its high carrier mobility and excellent photoresponsivity. However, the intrinsic defects V_s (sulfur vacancies), which cause Fermi level pinning (significant metal contact resistance), hinder its electrical and optoelectrical performance. Herein, oxygen plasma treatment is employed to enhance the optoelectronic performance of SnS₂ flakes, which results in artificial sub‐bandgap in SnS₂. Consequently, the broadband photosensing (300–750 nm) is remarkably improved. Specifically, under 350 nm illumination, the O₂‐plasma‐treated SnS₂ photodetector exhibits an enhanced photoresponsivity from 385 to 860 A W^?1, the external quantum efficiency and the detectivity improve by one order of magnitude as well as increase the photoswitching response improvement by two orders of magnitude for both rising (τ_r) and decay (τ_d) time. This artificial sub‐bandgap can both improve the photoresponse and broaden the response spectra, which paves a new path for the applications of optoelectronics.     

Interlayer Coupling Induced Infrared Response in WS2/MoS2 Heterostructures Enhanced by Surface Plasmon Resonance

Infrared light detection is generally limited by the intrinsic bandgap of semiconductors, which suppresses the freedom in infrared light photodetector design and hinders the development of high‐performance infrared light photodetector. In this work, for the first time infrared light (1030 nm) photodetectors are fabricated based on WS₂/MoS₂ heterostructures. Individual WS₂ and MoS₂ have no response to infrared light. The origin of infrared light response for WS₂/MoS₂ comes from the strong interlayer coupling which shrinks the energy interval in the heterojunction area thus rendering heterostructures longer wavelength detection ability compared to individual components. Considering the low light absorption due to indirect bandgap essence of few layers WS₂/MoS₂ heterostructures, its infrared responsivity is further enhanced with at most ≈25 times but the fast response rate is maintained via surface plasmon resonance (SPR). Such an interlayer coupling induced infrared light response and surface plasmon resonance enhancement strategy paves the way for high‐performance infrared light photodetection of infinite freedom in design.     

Molecular Doping of 2D Indium Selenide for Ultrahigh Performance and Low-Power Consumption Broadband Photodetectors

Two-dimensional (2D) photodetecting materials have shown superior performances over traditional materials (e.g., silicon, perylenes), which demonstrate low responsivity (R) ( < 1 AW⁻¹), external quantum efficiency (EQE) ( < 100%), and limited detection bandwidth. Recently, 2D indium selenide (InSe) emerged as high-performance active material in field-effect transistors and photodetectors, whose fabrication required expensive and complex techniques. Here, it is shown for the first time how molecular functionalization with a common surfactant molecule (didodecyldimethylammonium bromide) (DDAB) represents a powerful strategy to boost the (opto)electronic performances of InSe yielding major performance enhancements in phototransistors, Schottky junctions, and van der Waals heterostructures via a lithography-compatible fabrication route. The functionalization can controllably dope and heal vacancies in InSe, resulting in ultrahigh field-effect mobility (10³ cm² V⁻¹ s⁻¹) and photoresponsivity (10⁶ A W⁻¹), breaking the record of non-graphene-contacted 2D photodetectors. The strategy towards the molecular doping of 2D photodetecting materials is efficient, practical, up-scalable, and operable with ultra-low power input, ultimately paving the way to next-generation 2D opto-electronics.     

Anomalous Dimensionality-Driven Phase Transition of MoTe2 in Van der Waals Heterostructure

Phase transition in nanomaterials is distinct from that in 3D bulk materials owing to the dominant contribution of surface energy. Among nanomaterials, 2D materials have shown unique phase transition behaviors due to their larger surface-to-volume ratio, high crystallinity, and lack of dangling bonds in atomically thin layers. Here, the anomalous dimensionality-driven phase transition of molybdenum ditelluride (MoTe₂) encapsulated by hexagonal boron nitride (hBN) is reported. After encapsulation annealing, single-crystal 2H-MoTe₂ transformed into polycrystalline T_d-MoTe₂ with tilt-angle grain boundaries of 60°-glide-reflection and 120°-twofold rotation. In contrast to conventional nanomaterials, the hBN-encapsulated MoTe₂ exhibit a deterministic dependence of the phase transition on the number of layers, in which the thinner MoTe₂ has a higher 2H-to-T_d phase transition temperature. In addition, the vertical and lateral phase transitions of the stacked MoTe₂ with different crystalline orientations can be controlled by inserted graphene layers and the thickness of the heterostructure. Finally, it is shown that seamless T_d contacts for 2H-MoTe₂ transistors can be fabricated by using the dimensionality-driven phase transition. The work provides insight into the phase transition of 2D materials and van der Waals heterostructures and illustrates a novel method for the fabrication of multi-phase 2D electronics.     

Large‐Area Bilayer ReS2 Film/Multilayer ReS2 Flakes Synthesized by Chemical Vapor Deposition for High Performance Photodetectors

Rhenium disulfide (ReS₂) is attracting more and more attention for its thickness‐depended direct band gap. As a new appearing 2D transition metal dichalcogenide, the studies on synthesis method via chemical vapor deposition (CVD) is still rare. Here a systematically study on the CVD growth of continuous bilayer ReS₂ film and single crystalline hexagonal ReS₂ flake, as well as their corresponding optoelectronic properties is reported. Moreover, the growth mechanism has been proposed, accompanied with simulation study. High‐performance photodetector based on ReS₂ flake shows a high responsivity of 604 A·W^?1, high external quantum efficiency of 1.50 × 10⁵ %, and fast response time of 2 ms. ReS₂ film‐based photodetector exhibits weaker performance than the flake one; however, it still demonstrates a much faster response time (≈10³ ms) than other reported CVD‐grown ReS₂‐based photodetector (≈10⁴–10⁵ ms). Such good properties of ReS₂ render it a promising future in 2D optoelectronics.     

2D Rhenium Dichalcogenides: From Fundamental Properties to Recent Advances in Photodetector Technology

Van der Waals (vdW) materials of transition metal dichalcogenides (TMD) family with semiconducting properties are currently at the forefront of research in the field of optoelectronics. The ability to couple them with one another at atomic interface precision in a synergistic way opens up unprecedented opportunities to design photodetectors of broad spectral range with excellent figures of merits not accessible to discrete materials. Recent years have seen a surge of interest in group VII TMD materials (ReS₂ and ReSe₂) due to their strong optical response from bulk to monolayer and good ambient stability. Their band gap energies spanning over visible and near-infrared ranges and the strong linear polarization sensitivity stemming from the distorted octahedral symmetry, are ideally suited for polarization-sensitive photodetectors. This review aims at providing a comprehensive understanding of the fundamental properties, optical identification of various structural features, long-debated question of band gap nature and interlayer coupling, and recent advances in the development of photodetectors based on ReS₂, ReSe₂, and their vdW heterostructures with other layered materials of practical importance. We critically review various conceptual device designs implemented based on band engineering, emphasize on the merits of these photodetectors and their potential applications, and provide an outlook for future prospects.     

中波-长波双色量子阱红外探测器

采用n型掺杂的AlGaAs/GaAs和AlGaAs/InGaA多量子阱材料,基于MOCVD外延生长技术,利用成熟的GaAs集成电路加工工艺,设计并制作了不同结构的中波-长波双色量子阱红外探测器(QWIP)器件,器件采用正面入射二维光栅耦合,光栅周期设计为4μm,宽度2μm;对制作的500μm×500μm大面积双色QWIP单元器件暗电流、响应光谱、探测率进行了测试和分析。在-3V偏压、77K温度和300K背景温度下长波(LWIR)和中波(MWIR)QWIP的暗电流密度分别为0.6、0.02mA/cm2;-3V偏压、80K温度下MWIR和LWIR QWIP的响应光谱峰值波长分别为5.2、7.8μm;在2V偏压、65K温度下,LWIR和MWIR QWIP的峰值探测率分别为1.4×1011、6×1010cm.Hz1/2/W。     

Infrared Proximity Sensors Based on Photo-Induced Tunneling in van der Waals Integration

Infrared (IR) detectors based on photo-induced tunneling in van der Waals heterostructures (vdWHs) of graphene/h-BN/graphene or MoS₂/h-BN/graphene exhibit extremely low dark currents owing to a large electron barrier. However, a lack of tunneling barrier materials except for h-BN for 2D vdWHs limits their further enhancement. In this study, a broadband detection is reported with high sensitivity and fast photoresponse of IR proximity sensor by a vdW integration (2D-3D) of graphene or MoS₂, with NiO/Ni as the IR absorber and hole selective transport layer/counter electrode. The low Schottky barrier height of the reported junctions suppresses dark current with a high detectivity ≈ 10¹⁴ Jones and generates a photocurrent by transporting photo-excited carriers through a low hole barrier at a wide wavelength. Two types of integrated IR proximity sensor applications are developed: a passive sensor (MoS₂/NiO/Ni) for the near-IR (NIR) range and an active sensor (Gr/NiO/Ni) for the mid-IR (MIR) range. The former shows a broadband photoresponse to reflect the NIR, while the latter absorbs human body irradiation (2–16 µm wavelength) with a fast photoresponse of 3.5 s (rise time) and 1.8 s (fall time). The fabricated sensors utilize low power, broadband detection, high sensitivity, fast photoresponse, and large-scale area at room temperature.     

Ultrahigh Infrared Photoresponse from Core–Shell Single‐Domain‐VO2/V2O5 Heterostructure in Nanobeam

Infrared (IR) harvesting and detection in red and near‐IR (NIR) part of the solar spectrum have always been a long‐term research area of intense interest. However, limited choices of current photoactive materials have significantly hampered the realization of ultrahigh IR sensitivity under room temperature conditions. The trigger for this requires the exploration of new photo­active materials and the ability to fabricate new photoactive structural design. Herein, a new oxide‐catalogue photoconductive NIR detector with ultrahigh performance built by core/shell nanobeam heterostructures (CSNHs) with the inner single‐domain monoclinic VO₂ (M) core and outer V₂O₅ shell, which is the first example of photoconductive IR detector made from transition metal oxides (TMOs), is presented. Benefited from the well‐defined TMO hetero­junction interface, the ultrahigh responsivity (R_λ) of 2873.7 A W^‐1 and specific detectivity (D*) of 9.23 × 10¹² Jones are achieved at room temperature (at 990 nm; 0.2 mW cm^‐2), recording the best performance compared with those reported IR detectors based on heavy‐metal‐free materials, and even comparable/superior to those traditional ones made from materials including heavy metals. These findings pave a new way to design oxide heterostructures for intriguing applications in optoelectronic and energy harvesting nanodevices.     

Ternary Ta2NiSe5 Flakes for a High‐Performance Infrared Photodetector

Multielemental systems enable the use of multiple degrees of freedom for control of physical properties by means of stoichiometric variation. This has attracted extremely high interest in the field of 2D optoelectronics in recent years. Here, for the first time, multilayer 2D ternary Ta₂NiSe₅ flakes are successfully fabricated using a mechanical exfoliation method from chemical vapor transport synthesized high quality bulk and the optoelectronic properties are systematically investigated. Importantly, a high responsivity of 17.21 A W^?1 and high external quantum efficiency of 2645% are recorded from an as‐fabricated photodetector at room temperature in air; this is superior to most other 2D materials‐based photodetectors that have been reported. More intriguingly, a usual sublinear and an unusual superlinear light‐intensity‐dependent photocurrent are observed under air and vacuum, respectively. These excellent and special properties make multilayer ternary Ta₂NiSe₅ a highly competitive candidate for future infrared optoelectronic applications and an interesting platform for photophysics studies.     

Manipulation of Magnetic Skyrmion in a 2D van der Waals Heterostructure via Both Electric and Magnetic Fields

As a promising candidate for the much-desired low power consumption spintronic devices, 2D magnetic van der Waals material also provides a versatile platform for the design and control of topological spin textures. In this work on WTe₂/CrCl₃ bilayer van der Waals heterostructures, a complete Néel-type skyrmion–bimeron–ferromagnet phase transition is demonstrated, accompanied by the evolution of the topological number. This cyclic transition, mediated by a perpendicular magnetic field, is largely driven by the competition between the out-of-plane magnetocrystalline anisotropy and magnetic dipole–dipole interaction. In the presence of a driving current, the Néel-type skyrmion gains a higher velocity yet larger skyrmion Hall angle, in comparison to the bimeron. By incorporating a ferroelectric CuInP₂S₆ monolayer as a substrate, writing and erasing of skyrmions may be regulated using a ferroelectric polarization. This work sheds light on a novel approach to the design and control of magnetic skyrmions on 2D van der Waals materials.     

Removal of Interlayer Water of two Ti3C2Tx MXenes as a Versatile Tool for Controlling the Fermi-Level Pinning-Free Schottky Diodes with Nb:SrTiO3

Striving for the sixth-generation communication technology discovery, semiconductors beyond Si with wider bandgaps as well as non-conventional metals are actively being sought to achieve high speeds whilst maintaining devices miniaturization. 2D materials may provide the potential for downsizing, but their functional advantage over existing counterparts still longs to be discovered. Along that path, surface-adsorbed or bulk-intercalated water molecules remaining after wet-chemical synthesis of 2D materials are generally seen as obstacles to high-performance achievement. Herein, the control of such water within the interlayers of solution-processed metallic 2D titanium carbide (MXene) by vacuum annealing duration is demonstrated. Moreover, the impact of water removal on work function (WF) and functional terminations is unveiled for the first time. Furthermore, the usefulness of such water for controlling a novel Schottky diode in contact with an n-type oxide semiconductor, niobium-doped strontium titanate (Nb:SrTiO₃) is observed. The advantage of MXene compared to conventional gold as facile processing, WF tunability, and lower turn-on voltage in the Schottky anode application is highlighted. This fundamental study shows the way for a novel Schottky diode preparation in atmospheric conditions and provides implications for further research directions aiming at commercialization.