Optoelectronics based on 2D semiconductor heterostructures

Van der Waals (vdW) heterostructures built from two-dimensional layered materials provide an unprecedented opportunity in designing new material systems because the lack of dangling bonds on the vdW surfaces enables the creation of high-quality heterointerfaces without the constraint of atomically precise commensurability. In particular, the ability to build artificial heterostructures, combined with the recent advent of transition metal dichalcogenides, allows the fabrication of unique semiconductor heterostructures in an ultimate thickness limit for fundamental studies as well as novel device applications. In this talk, we will present the characterization of the electronic and optoelectronic properties of atomically thin p-n junctions consisting of vertically stacked WSe2 and MoS2 monolayers. We observed gate-tunable diode-like current rectification and a photovoltaic response across the p-n interface. Unlike conventional bulk p-n junctions, the tunneling-assisted interlayer recombination of the majority carriers is responsible for the tenability of the charge transport and the photovoltaic response. Furthermore, we will discuss the enhanced optoelectronic characteristics in graphene-sandwiched vdW p-n junctions.