High-Performance van der Waals Metal-Insulator-Semiconductor Photodetector Optimized with Valence Band Matching

The vertical metal-insulator-semiconductor (MIS) photodetectors based on van der Waals heterostructures (vdWHs), fabricated by rationally stacking different layers without the limit of lattice-match, have attracted broad interest due to their wide wavelength monitoring range, high responsivity, high detectivity, and fast response. Here, for the first time, the control of barrier height in vdWHs MIS photodetectors is systematically investigated. Optimizing semiconducting and insulating layers enables lowering the hole barrier height to achieve a high performance of the device. Graphene/hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN)/SnS₂ device shows the best photodetection performance compared to the other common 2D semiconductors. The lowest barrier height ensures that the photo-induced holes transfer efficiently to the graphene electrode and the dark current is highly suppressed by the h-BN layers. Consequently, the graphene/h-BN/SnS₂ MIS photodetectors have a high photoresponsivity of 2 A W⁻¹, a high detectivity of 10¹³ Jones, and a photocurrent/dark current ratio of 5.2 × 10⁵ at a low applied bias of −0.6 V. The highest detectivity reaches 9.6 × 10¹³ Jones which is 100–1000 times greater than previously reported vdWHs MIS photodetectors.     

Effect of Cyano Substitution on Non-Fullerene Acceptor for Near-Infrared Organic Photodetectors above 1000 nm

Near-infrared organic photodetectors (NIR OPDs) comprising ultra-narrow bandgap non-fullerene acceptors (NFA, over 1000 nm) typically exhibit high dark current density under applied reverse bias. Therefore, suppression of dark current density is crucial to achieve high-performance of such NIR OPDs. Herein, cyano (CN) with a strong electron-withdrawing property is introduced into alkoxy thiophene as a π-bridge to adjust its optoelectronic characteristics, and the correlation between dark current density and charge injection barrier is investigated. Compared with their motivated NFA (COTH), the novel CN-substituted NFAs, COTCN and COTCN2, exhibited deeper-lying highest occupied molecular orbital energy levels and narrower optical bandgap (<1.10 eV), owing to the strong inductive and resonance effect of CN. The dark current and total noise currents are minimized as the number of substituted CN increases because of the larger hole injection barrier. Consequently, PTB7-Th:COTCN2 exhibited the best shot-noise limited detectivity (D^*_sh, 1.18 × 10¹² Jones) and total noise detectivity (D^*_n, 1.33 × 10¹¹ Jones) compared with those of PTB7-Th:COTH (D^*_sh, 2.47 × 10¹¹ Jones and D^*_n, 1.96 × 10¹⁰ Jones).     

A Tunable Polarization Field for Enhanced Performance of Flexible BaTiO3@TiO2 Nanofiber Photodetector by Suppressing Dark Current to pA Level

The flexible titanium dioxide (TiO₂) nanofibers (NFs) film are promising candidates for high-performance wearable optoelectronic devices. However, the TiO₂ ultraviolet photodetectors (UV PDs) generally suffer from low photosensitivity, which limits the practical applications. Herein, a TiO₂ (TO) NFs film flexible photodetector integrated by ferroelectric BaTiO₃ (BTO) NFs is developed via electrospinning technology with double sprinklers and in situ heat treatment. Compared with TO NFs PD with poor on/off ratio ≈44, the BTO@TO NFs PD-2 exhibits an excellent on/off ratio of ≈1.5  × 10⁴ due to the dramatically restrained dark current. The ultralow dark current (pA level) is attributed to the depletion of photogenerated carriers by the space high-resistance state induced by the downward self-polarization field in ferroelectric BaTiO₃ NFs. The ferroelectric domain with larger downward orientation in polarized BTO@TO NFs exhibits stronger self-polarization field to modify the directional transport of photogenerated carriers and enhances the band bending level, which improves the photocurrent of device. The special structure woven by ferroelectric nanofiber with self-polarization will provide a promising approach for improving the performance of flexible photodetectors.     

High-Performance Near-Infrared Photodetectors Based on Surface-Doped InSe

2D InSe is one of the semimetal chalcogenides that has been recently given attention thanks to its excellent electrical properties, such as high mobility near 1000 cm² V⁻¹ s⁻¹ and moderate band gap of ≈1.26 eV suitable for IR detection. Here, high-performance visible to near-infrared (470–980 nm wavelength (λ)) photodetectors using surface-doped InSe as a channel and few-layer graphenes (FLG) as electrodes are reported, where the InSe top region is relatively p-doped using AuCl₃. The surface-doped InSe photodetectors show outstanding performance, achieving a photoresponsivity (R) of ≈19 300 A W⁻¹ and a detectivity (D*) of ≈3 × 10¹³ Jones at λ = 470 nm, and R of ≈7870 A W⁻¹ and D* of ≈1.5 × 10¹³ Jones at λ = 980 nm, superior to previously reported 2D material-based IR photodetectors operating without an applied gate bias. Surface doping using AuCl₃ renders a band bending at the junction between the InSe surface and the top FLG contact, which facilitates electron-hole pair separation and immediate photodetection. Multiple doped or undoped InSe photodetectors with different device structures are investigated, providing insight into the photodetection mechanism and optimizing performance. Encapsulation with hexagonal boron nitride dielectric also allows for 3-month stability.     

Strategy Toward Semiconducting Ti3C2Tx-MXene: Phenylsulfonic Acid Groups Modified Ti3C2Tx as Photosensitive Material for Flexible Visual Sensory-Neuromorphic System

The excellent electronic and electrochemical properties make 2D MXenes suitable candidates for sensors, batteries, and supercapacitors. However, the metallic-like behavior of MXenes hinders their potential for optoelectronic devices such as photodetectors. In this study, the band gap of metalloid Ti₃C₂T_x MXene is successfully opened to 1.53 eV with phenylsulfonic acid groups and realized a transistor and high-performance near-infrared photodetector array for a flexible vision sensory-neuromorphic system. The phenylsulfonic acid groups modified Ti₃C₂T_x MXene (S-Ti₃C₂T_x)-based flexible photodetector has a maximum responsivity of 8.50×10² A W⁻¹ and a detectivity of 3.69×10¹¹ Jones under 1064 nm laser irradiation. Moreover, the fabricated flexible vision sensory-neuromorphic system for image recognition realizes a high recognition rate >0.99, leading to great potential in the field of biological visual simulation and biomimetic eye. Besides conventional devices with Au as the conductive electrodes, all Ti₃C₂T_x MXene-based devices are also fabricated with S-Ti₃C₂T_x as the photosensitive material and unmodified Ti₃C₂T_x as the conductive electrodes, exhibiting comparable optoelectronic performances.     

Junction Field-Effect Transistors Based on PdSe2/MoS2 Heterostructures for Photodetectors Showing High Responsivity and Detectivity

2D materials have shown great promise for next-generation high-performance photodetectors. However, the performance of photodetectors based on 2D materials is generally limited by the tradeoff between photoresponsivity and photodetectivity. Here, a novel junction field-effect transistor (JFET) photodetector consisting of a PdSe₂ gate and MoS₂ channel is constructed to realize high responsivity and high detectivity through effective modulation of top junction gate and back gate. The JFET exhibits high carrier mobility of 213 cm² V⁻¹ s⁻¹. What is more, the high responsivity of 6 × 10² A W⁻¹, as well as the high detectivity of 10¹¹ Jones, are achieved simultaneously through the dual-gate modulation. The high performance is attributed to the modulation of the depletion region by the dual-gate, which can effectively suppress the dark current and enhance the photocurrent, thereby realizing high detectivity and responsivity. The JFET photodetector provides a new approach to realize photodetectors with high responsivity and detectivity.     

Large-Size Ultrathin α-Ga2S3 Nanosheets toward High-Performance Photodetection

Following the extensive researches of graphene, 2D layered semiconductors have attracted widespread attention for their intriguing physical properties. 2D α-Ga₂S₃ as an important member of group III_A–VI_A semiconductors has outstanding optoelectronic properties. However, the controllable large-size synthesis of ultrathin α-Ga₂S₃ nanosheets still remains a huge challenge. In this paper, a large-size ultrathin nanosheets of hexagonal Ga₂S₃ is prepared via an improved chemical vapor deposition method. High-performance photodetectors based on the ultrathin Ga₂S₃ nanosheets is demonstrated. The device shows a high photosensitivity/detectivity (9.2 A W⁻¹/1.4 × 10¹² Jones) and a fast response time (rise/fall time of <4/3 ms), respectively. Strikingly, wearable flexible photodetectors based on Ga₂S₃ nanosheets are fabricated accordingly and demonstrate great response performance and stability. This work provides a new direction for 2D semiconductors to apply in next-generation nanoscale smart optoelectronics.     

Polarization‐Sensitive Ultraviolet Photodetection of Anisotropic 2D GeS2

Polarization‐sensitive photodetection in the UV region is highly indispensable in many military and civilian applications. UV‐polarized photodetection usually relies on the use of wide bandgap semiconductors with 1D nanostructures requiring complicated nanofabrication processes. Although the emerging anisotropic 2D semiconductors shed light on the detection of polarization with a simple device architecture, bandgaps of such reported 2D semiconductors are too small to be applied for visible–blind UV‐polarized photodetection. Here, germanium disulfide (GeS₂), the widest bandgap (>3 eV) in the family of in‐plane anisotropic 2D semiconductors explored to date, is introduced as an ideal candidate for UV‐polarized photodetection. The structural, vibrational, and optical anisotropies of GeS₂ are systematically investigated from theory to experiment. GeS₂‐based photodetectors show a strong polarization‐dependent photoresponse in the UV region. GeS₂ with a wide bandgap and high in‐plane anisotropy not only enriches the family of anisotropic 2D semiconductors but also expands the polarized photodetection from the current visible and near‐infrared to the brand‐new UV region.     

Low-noise solar-blind AlxGa1-xN-based metal-semiconductor-metal ultraviolet photodetectors

We report the growth, fabrication, and characterization of high performance Schottky metal-semiconductor-metal solar-blind photodetectors fabricated on epitaxial Al_0.4Ga_0.6N layers grown by metalorganic chemical vapor deposition. The devices exhibited low dark current (<2 pA at 30 V) and a gain-enhanced ultraviolet (UV) photocurrent for bias voltages >40 V. The gain was corroborated by external quantum efficiency measurements reflecting a quantum efficiency as high as 49% (at=272 nm) at 90 V bias, with a corresponding responsivity R=107 mA/W. A visible-to-UV rejection factor of more than three orders of magnitude was demonstrated. Time-domain and frequency-domain speed measurements show a 3-dB bandwidth of ∼100 MHz. Low-frequency noise measurements have determined a detectivity (D^*) as high as 3.3 10¹⁰ cm·Hz^1/2/W for a 500 Hz bandwidth at 37 V bias.     

High‐Performance Ultraviolet Photodetector Based on a Few‐Layered 2D NiPS3 Nanosheet

2D materials, represented by transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDs), have attracted tremendous research interests in photoelectronic and electronic devices. However, for their relatively small bandgap (<2 eV), the application of traditional TMDs into solar‐blind ultraviolet (UV) photodetection is restricted. Here, for the first time, NiPS₃ nanosheets are grown via chemical vapor deposition method. The nanosheets thinning to 3.2 nm with the lateral size of dozens of micrometers are acquired. Based on the various nanosheets, a linearity is found between the Raman intensity of specific A_g modes and the thickness, providing a convenient method to determine their layer numbers. Furthermore, a UV photodetector is fabricated using few‐layered 2D NiPS₃ nanosheets. It shows an ultrafast rise time shorter than 5 ms with an ultralow dark current less than 10 fA. Notably, this UV photodetector demonstrates a high detectivity of 1.22 × 10¹² Jones, outperforming some traditional wide‐bandgap UV detectors. The wavelength‐dependent photoresponsivity measurement allows the direct observation of an admirable cut‐off wavelength at 360 nm, which indicates a superior spectral selectivity. The promising photodetector performance, accompanied with the controllable fabrication and transfer process of nanosheet, lays the foundation of applying 2D semiconductors for ultrafast UV light detection.     

Switchable and Reversible p+/n+ Doping in 2D Semiconductors by Ionic 2D Minerals

2D semiconductors are promising for fabricating miniaturized and flexible electronic devices. The manipulation of polarities in 2D semiconductors is key to fabricate functional devices and circuits. However, the switchable and reversible control of polarity in 2D semiconductors is challenging due to their ultrathin body. Herein, a reversible and non-destructive method is developed to dope 2D semiconductors by using ionic 2D minerals as the electrostatic gating. The 2D semiconductor channel can be reversibly transformed between n⁺ and p⁺ types with carrier concentrations of 1.59 × 10¹³ and 6.82 × 10¹² cm⁻², respectively. With the ability to in situ control carrier type and concentration in 2D semiconductors by ionic gating, a reversible PN/NP junction and programmable logic gate are demonstrated in such devices. This 2D mineral materials-based ionic doping approach provides an alternative method for achieving multi-functional and complex circuits in an all-2D material flatform.     

Ultrahigh‐Gain Single SnO2 Microrod Photoconductor on Flexible Substrate with Fast Recovery Speed

Owing to the special properties and wide applications, UV photodetectors based on wide‐band‐gap semiconductors have drawn an increasing interest during the last two decades. However, practical UV photodetectors are required two contradictory performances: high internal gain and fast recovery speed, because high internal gain is achieved by long life time of photoexcited carriers and fast recovery needs their fast decay. Their slow decay in wide‐band‐gap semiconductors has been known as a persistent photoconductivity (PPC) problem and hinders applications. In this paper, a good solution to the above contradictory problem is demonstrated on a single SnO₂ microrod photoconductor, which shows both high photoconductive gain (≈1.5 × 10⁹) and quick recovery speed (<1 s). Notably, the quick recovery speed is associated with the removal of the persistent photoconductivity effect (>1 d), which is induced by a novel “reset” process: bending and straightening the microrod and subsequently applying a voltage pulse. This result suggests that SnO₂ microrods have potential applications in high‐performance UV photodetecting devices.     

Bandgap Engineering of BiIns Nanowire for Wide-Spectrum,High-Responsivity,and Polarimetric-Sensitive Detection

Optical devices based on alloying semiconductors offer a plethora of new possibilities for detection across a broad spectrum. Among these devices, nanowire-based devices have gained much attention due to their remarkable specific surface area properties in terms of material synthesis, device structure, and performance. In this work, (Bi_xIn_1−x)₂S₃ nanowires are designed by controlling the ratio of Bi and In atoms. The atomic ratio directly affects the electronic band structure of the crystal, thereby further optimizing the performance of optoelectronic devices. According to the experimental results, Bi_1.28In_0.72S₃ nanowire-based photodetectors obtain the most excellent photoresponse performance. The typical device demonstrates a spectral response from deep ultraviolet (DUV 254 nm) to near-infrared (NIR 1064 nm) and achieves a maximum dichroic ratio of photoresponse of 1.5 under polarization-angle-sensitive detection in the 266–808 nm range. It also exhibits a photoresponse of 10.1 A W⁻¹ and a photodetectivity of 5.7 × 10¹⁰ Jones under 532 nm light irradiation. Additionally, the photodetector displays a fast response speed with a rise/fall time of 5/4.7 ms. Finally, “CSU” and puppy images produced by this device further demonstrate the effectiveness of alloying semiconductors in creating wide-spectrum, high-responsivity, fast-response, and polarimetric-sensitive photodetectors.     

All-Dielectric Nanostructure Fabry–Pérot-Enhanced Mie Resonances Coupled with Photogain Modulation toward Ultrasensitive In2S3 Photodetector

As the fresh blood of 2D family, non-layered 2D materials (2DNLMs) have demonstrated great potential in the application of next-generation optoelectronic devices. However, stemming from the weak light absorption brought by atomically thin thickness and the interfacial recombination brought by surface dangling bonds, traditional 2DNLM photodetectors are always accompanied by limited performance. Herein, a structure that integrates Si nanopillar array and non-layered 2D In₂S₃ to construct an ultrasensitive photodetector is designed. In particular, periodically Si nanopillars can act as Fabry–Pérot-enhanced Mie resonators that can effectively control and enhance the light absorption of 2D In₂S₃. On the other hand, a vertical built-in electric field is introduced in the In₂S₃ channel to capture photogenerated holes and leave electrons recycling in In₂S₃, obtaining a high photogain. Benefiting from these two mechanisms, this proposed photodetector presents a high responsivity of 4812 A W⁻¹ and short rise/decay time of 5.2/4.0 ms at the wavelength of 405 nm. Especially, a high light on–off ratio greater than 10⁶ and a record-high detectivity of 5.4 × 10¹⁵ Jones are achieved, representing one of the most sensitive photodetectors based on 2D materials. This deliberate device design concept suggests an effective scheme to construct high-performance 2DNLM optoelectronic devices.     

Fully-Depleted PdTe2/WSe2 van der Waals Field Effect Transistor with High Light On/Off Ratio and Broadband Detection

Due to its unique band structure and topological properties, the 2D topological semimetal exhibits potential applications in photoelectric detection, polarization sensitive imaging, and Schottky barrier diodes. However, its inherent large dark current hinders the further improvement of the performance of the semimetal-based photodetectors. In this study, a van der Waals (vdWs) field effect transistor (FET) composed of semimetal PdTe₂ and transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDs) WSe₂ is fabricated, which exhibits high sensitivity photoelectric detection performance in a wide band from visible light (405 nm) to mid-infrared (5 µm). The dark current and the noise level in the device are greatly suppressed by the effective control of the gate. Benefiting from the extremely low dark current (1.2 pA), the device achieves an optical on/off ratio up to 10⁶, a high detectivity of 9.79 × 10¹³ Jones and a rapid response speed (219 and 45 µs). This research demonstrates the latent capacity of the 2D topological semimetal/TMDs vdWs FET for broadband, high-performance, and miniaturized photodetection.     

X-ray Sensitive hybrid organic photodetectors with embedded CsPbBr3 perovskite quantum dots

X-ray detection is an important technology for medical diagnosis as well as industrial and security inspections. While today's commercial X-ray detectors are bulky, photodetectors based on organic semiconductors have attracted increasing attention owing to their low temperature processing capabilities, flexibility and low cost. Nonetheless, the low X-ray attenuation coefficient of organic semiconductors still hinders their practical application. Herein, a new organic-inorganic hybrid strategy is proposed to improve the X-ray sensitivity of organic photodetectors (OPDs). A solution-processed X-ray sensitive hybrid OPD is fabricated by embedding CsPbBr₃ quantum dots (QDs) into a P3HT:PC₆₁BM bulk heterojunction photodiode. The QDs, acting as embedded scintillators in the organic active layer, maintain a high radioluminescence. The proposed hybrid structure enables indirect X-ray detection in a comprehensive manner. These hybrid photodetectors exhibit suppressed dark current densities in the range of tens of picoamperes per square centimeters for different weight ratios of blended QDs. The best OPD achieves a sensitivity of 229.6 e nGy⁻¹ mm⁻² (3.67 μC Gy⁻¹ cm⁻²) and a dark current of 23.3 pA cm⁻² at a low operating voltage (−3 V) for 20–80 kV “soft” X-rays, thus representing great potential for the development of next generation low cost, portable, and highly sensitive X-ray detectors.     

Ultra-Stable and Sensitive Ultraviolet Photodetectors Based on Monocrystalline Perovskite Thin Films

The detection of ultraviolet (UV) radiation with effective performance and robust stability is essential to practical applications. Metal halide single-crystal perovskites (ABX₃) are promising next-generation materials for UV detection. The device performance of all-inorganic CsPbCl₃ photodetectors (PDs) is still limited by inner imperfection of crystals grown in solution. Here wafer-scale single-crystal CsPbCl₃ thin films are successfully grown by vapor-phase epitaxy method, and the as-constructed PDs under UV light illumination exhibit an ultralow dark current of 7.18 pA, ultrahigh ON/OFF ratio of ≈5.22 × 10⁵, competitive responsivity of 32.8 A W⁻¹, external quantum efficiency of 10867% and specific detectivity of 4.22 × 10¹² Jones. More importantly, they feature superb long-term stability toward moisture and oxygen within twenty-one months, good temperature tolerances at low and high temperatures. The ability of the photodetector arrays for excellent UV light imaging is further demonstrated.     

The properties of photo chemical-vapor deposition SiO<Subscript>2</Subscript> and its application in GaN metal-insulator semiconductor ultraviolet photodetectors

High-quality SiO₂ insulating layers were successfully deposited onto GaN by a photo chemical-vapor deposition (photo-CVD) technique using a deuterium (D₂) lamp as the excitation source. The interface-trap density, D_it, was estimated to be 8.4×10¹¹ cm⁻²eV⁻¹ for the photo-CVD SiO₂ layers prepared at 300°C. It was found that the leakage current was only 6.6×10⁻⁷ A/cm² with an applied field of 4 MV/cm for the 300°C photo-CVD-grown Al/SiO₂/GaN metal-insulator semiconductor (MIS) capacitor. It was also found that the photo-CVD SiO₂ layer could be used to suppress the dark current of nitride-based photodetectors. A large photocurrent to dark-current contrast ratio higher than three orders of magnitude and a maximum 0.12 A/W responsivity were observed from the fabricated indium tin oxide (ITO)/photo-SiO₂/GaN MIS ultraviolet (UV) photodetectors. Furthermore, it was found that corresponding noise-equivalent power (NEP) and normalized detectivity, D*, of our ITO/photo-SiO₂/GaN MIS UV photodetectors was 2.19×10⁻⁹ W and 2.03 × 10⁸ cmHz_0.5W⁻¹, respectively, for a given bandwidth of 500 Hz.     

Highly durable organic photodetector for complementary metal oxide semiconductor image sensors

Utilizing organic electronics compatible with conventional semiconductor fabrication processes is extremely difficult because of their low chemical resistivity and poor environmental durability. To preserve the intrinsic functionality of organic materials, only a few fabrication processes can be used. Moreover, it is essential to achieve process expandability and silicon-process compatibility to develop high-resolution electronics suitable for mass production. Therefore, we developed wet-process-compatible organic photodetectors by replacing the conventional shadow-mask process with photolithography. This suppresses particle deposition during the serial fabrication processes, providing high operational stability. The fabricated green organic photodiodes exhibit a low dark current (1.0 × 10⁻¹¹ A/cm²) with high photon–electron conversion efficiency (EQE = 65%). The charge collection and charge separation efficiencies are stable (η_cc = 84.6% and η_cs = 97.7%, respectively). Moreover, the organic semiconductors are compatible with conventional wet- and dry-etching processes owing to thin-film encapsulation layers. Finally, the novel organic image sensor can withstand 500 h under 85 °C/85% relative humidity and 1000 thermal cycles (−55–125 °C). Because of its robustness and strong barrier properties, the novel process architecture reported herein can be extended to any organic electronic devices, including widely commercialized organic light-emitting diodes and organic photovoltaic devices.     

Large-area and high-performance CH3NH3PbI3 perovskite photodetectors fabricated via doctor blading in ambient condition

Organic-inorganic hybrid halide perovskites have attracted much research interest in optoelectronic field due to their excellent photoelectric properties. Herein, we report large-area and high-performance perovskite CH₃NH₃PbI₃ photodetectors fabricated via in-situ thermal-treatment doctor blading technique in ambient condition (humidity ∼45%). As compared with spin-coating deposition technique, the doctor-bladed CH₃NH₃PbI₃ films have larger grain size, as well as good reliability and reproducibility in large area. The doctor-bladed CH₃NH₃PbI₃ photodetectors exhibited high detectivity (D*) of 2.9 × 10¹² Jones and high responsivity (R) of 8.95 A/W, as well as the fast response time of less than 7.7 ms. The results indicate that doctor-bladed CH₃NH₃PbI₃ film is a very promising candidate for fabricating large-scale and high-performance optoelectronic devices.