Abstract Transition metal dichalcogenide (TMD) heterostructures are promising for a variety of applications in photovoltaics and photosensing. Successfully exploiting these heterostructures will require an understanding of their layer-dependent electronic structures. However, there is no experimental data demonstrating the layer-number dependence of photovoltaic effects (PVEs) in vertical TMD heterojunctions. Here, by combining scanning electrochemical cell microscopy (SECCM) with optical probes, we report the first layer-dependence of photocurrents in WSe 2 /WS 2 vertical heterostructures as well as in pristine WS 2 and WSe 2 layers. For WS 2 , we find that photocurrents increase with increasing layer thickness, whereas for WSe 2 the layer dependence is more complex and depends on both the layer number and applied bias ( V b ). We further find that photocurrents in the WSe 2 /WS 2 heterostructures exhibit anomalous layer and material-type dependent behaviors. Our results advance the understanding of photoresponse in atomically thin WSe 2 /WS 2 heterostructures and pave the way to novel nanoelectronic and optoelectronic devices.
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Layer‐Number‐Dependent Electronic and Optoelectronic Properties of 2D WSe 2 ‐Organic Hybrid Heterojunction
One of the most attractive features of 2D WSe2is a tunability in its electronic and optoelectronic properties depending on the layer number. To harness such unique characteristics for device applications, high quality and easily processable heterojunctions are required and relevant layer‐number‐dependent properties must be understood. Herein, a study is reported on hybrid heterojunctions between 2D WSe2and organic molecules from one‐step solution chemistry and their layer‐number‐dependent properties. Eosin Y (EY) dye is selected as a p‐dopant and uniformly stacked on mechanically exfoliated WSe2flakes via van der Waals interaction, forming a hybrid heterojunction with a type II alignment. The EY‐WSe2heterojunction shows significantly enhanced currents compared to pristine WSe2with a lower barrier height and a longer effective screening length. The work function of the heterostructure is also lower than that of pristine WSe2. The efficient exciton dissociation and doping effect by EY are confirmed by photocurrent and photoluminescence measurements, where WSe2emission is markedly quenched by EY and exciton contribution decreases with layer number. These findings shed critical insights into layer‐number‐dependent electronic and optoelectronic properties of organic‐WSe2layers and also provide simple yet effective means to construct transition metal dichalcogenide‐based heterostructures, which should be valuable for developing layered 2D devices.
more » « less- NSF-PAR ID:
- 10458884
- Publisher / Repository:
- Wiley Blackwell (John Wiley & Sons)
- Date Published:
- Journal Name:
- Advanced Materials Interfaces
- Volume:
- 6
- Issue:
- 17
- ISSN:
- 2196-7350
- Format(s):
- Medium: X
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
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