Issue 1, 2022

An ultrafast photodetector driven by interlayer exciton dissociation in a van der Waals heterostructure

Abstract

Ultrafast photodetectors based on two-dimensional materials suffer from low responsivities and high dark currents. Interlayer exciton dissociation in type-II vertical heterojunctions of transition metal dichalcogenides is a viable mechanism for achieving higher responsivities with picosecond response times. Here, we propose a novel device concept based on these structures, with potential for self-powered photodetector applications characterized by an unprecedented trade-off between speed and responsivity with zero dark current. In order to assess the realistic performance to be expected in the proposed device, we have purposely devised a simulation approach able to provide a detailed investigation of the physics at play, while showing excellent predictive capabilities when compared with experiments on interlayer exciton transport available in the literature. The proposed high-performance photodetectors with tunable responsivities are at reach with available fabrication techniques and could help in paving the way towards monolithically integrated artificial neural networks for ultrafast machine vision in speed sensitive applications.

Graphical abstract: An ultrafast photodetector driven by interlayer exciton dissociation in a van der Waals heterostructure

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Communication
Submitted
02 Aug 2021
Accepted
14 Sep 2021
First published
08 Dec 2021
This article is Open Access
Creative Commons BY license

Nanoscale Horiz., 2022,7, 41-50

An ultrafast photodetector driven by interlayer exciton dissociation in a van der Waals heterostructure

E. Lopriore, E. G. Marin and G. Fiori, Nanoscale Horiz., 2022, 7, 41 DOI: 10.1039/D1NH00396H

This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported Licence. You can use material from this article in other publications without requesting further permissions from the RSC, provided that the correct acknowledgement is given.

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