skip to main content
US FlagAn official website of the United States government
dot gov icon
Official websites use .gov
A .gov website belongs to an official government organization in the United States.
https lock icon
Secure .gov websites use HTTPS
A lock ( lock ) or https:// means you've safely connected to the .gov website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites.


This content will become publicly available on March 19, 2026

Title: Engineering ultrafast photoconductive response in two-dimensional SnS2 through metal intercalation
SnS2 is a two-dimensional (2D) layered semiconductor with a visible-range bandgap (~2.3eV), high charge carrier mobility, long carrier lifetimes, and good environmental stability. This study explores the impact of zero-valent metal intercalation into the van der Waals gaps of SnS2 on charge carrier dynamics. We demonstrate that metal intercalation enhances optical absorption in the yellow-to-IR range and induces metal-dependent bandgap shifts. Time-resolved THz spectroscopy reveals that different metals uniquely influence photoconductivity dynamics: We find that intercalation with Bi, Ni, and Fe shortens the photoconductivity decay times, whereas Rh intercalation results in a slower decay. These findings highlight the potential of metal intercalation to tailor SnS2 properties for diverse applications, from solar energy conversion to high-speed photodetectors.  more » « less
Award ID(s):
2021871 1750944
PAR ID:
10620862
Author(s) / Creator(s):
; ; ; ; ;
Editor(s):
Betz, Markus; Elezzabi, Abdulhakem Y
Publisher / Repository:
SPIE
Date Published:
ISBN:
9781510684768
Page Range / eLocation ID:
3
Format(s):
Medium: X
Location:
San Francisco, United States
Sponsoring Org:
National Science Foundation
More Like this
  1. Abstract Tellurium‐hyperdoped silicon (Si:Te) shows significant promise as an intermediate band material candidate for highly efficient solar cells and photodetectors. Time‐resolved THz spectroscopy (TRTS) is used to study the excited carrier dynamics of Si hyperdoped with 0.5, 1, and 2%. The two photoexcitation wavelengths enable us to understand the temperature‐dependent carrier transport in the hyperdoped region in comparison with the Si region. Temperature significantly influences the magnitude of transient conductivity and decay time when photoexcited by light with a wavelength of 400 nm. Due to the differential mobilities in the Si and hyperdoped regions, such dependence is absent under 266‐nm excitation. Consistent with the literature, the charge‐carrier lifetime decreases with increasing dopant concentration. It is found that the photoconductivity becomes less temperature‐dependent as the dopant concentration increases. In the literature, the photodetection range of Si:Te extends to a wavelength of 5.0 µm at a temperature of 20 K. The simulation shows that carrier diffusion, driven by concentration gradients, is strongly temperature dependent and impacts transient photoconductivity decay curves. The simulation also revealed that, in the hyperdoped regions, the carrier recombination rate remains independent of temperature. 
    more » « less
  2. Razeghi, Manijeh; Jarrahi, Mona (Ed.)
    GeS and GeSe are 2D semiconductors with band gaps in the near infrared and predicted high carrier mobility. We find that excitation with 800 nm pulses results in long-lived free photocarriers, persisting for hundreds of picoseconds, in GeS and GeSe noribbons. We also demonstrate that zerovalent Cu intercalation is an effective tool for tuning the photoconductive response. Intercalation of ~ 3 atomic % of zerovalent Cu reduces the carrier lifetime in GeSe and GeS. In GeS, it also shortens the photoconductivity rise and improves carrier mobility. 
    more » « less
  3. Abstract Metal–organic frameworks (MOFs) with mobile charges have attracted significant attention due to their potential applications in photoelectric devices, chemical resistance sensors, and catalysis. However, fundamental understanding of the charge transport pathway within the framework and the key properties that determine the performance of conductive MOFs in photoelectric devices remain underexplored. Herein, we report the mechanisms of photoinduced charge transport and electron dynamics in the conductive 2D M−HHTP (M=Cu, Zn or Cu/Zn mixed; HHTP=2,3,6,7,10,11‐hexahydroxytriphenylene) MOFs and their correlation with photoconductivity using the combination of time‐resolved terahertz spectroscopy, optical transient absorption spectroscopy, X‐ray transient absorption spectroscopy, and density functional theory (DFT) calculations. We identify the through‐space hole transport mechanism through the interlayer sheet π–π interaction, where photoinduced hole state resides in HHTP ligand and electronic state is localized at the metal center. Moreover, the photoconductivity of the Cu−HHTP MOF is found to be 65.5 S m−1, which represents the record high photoconductivity for porous MOF materials based on catecholate ligands. 
    more » « less
  4. Abstract The ultrafast dynamics of photoexcited charge carriers are studied in micron‐scale crystals composed of the inorganic perovskite CsPbBr3with time‐resolved terahertz spectroscopy. Exciting with photon energy close to the band edge, it is found that a fast (<10 ps) decay emerges in the terahertz photoconductivity with increasing pump fluence and decreasing temperature, dominating the dynamics at 4 K. The fluence‐dependent dynamics can be globally fit by a nonlinear recombination model, which reveals that the influence of different nonlinear recombination mechanisms in the studied pump fluence range depends on temperature. Whereas the Auger scattering rate decreases with decreasing temperature from 77 to 4 K, the radiative recombination rate increases by three orders of magnitude. Spectroscopically, the terahertz photoconductivity resembles a Drude response at all delays, yet an additional Lorentz component due to an above‐bandwidth resonance is needed to fully reproduce the data. 
    more » « less
  5. Abstract The outstanding performance of organic-inorganic metal trihalide solar cells benefits from the exceptional photo-physical properties of both electrons and holes in the material. Here, we directly probe the free-carrier dynamics in Cs-doped FAPbI3thin films by spatiotemporal photoconductivity imaging. Using charge transport layers to selectively quench one type of carriers, we show that the two relaxation times on the order of 1 μs and 10 μs correspond to the lifetimes of electrons and holes in FACsPbI3, respectively. Strikingly, the diffusion mapping indicates that the difference in electron/hole lifetimes is largely compensated by their disparate mobility. Consequently, the long diffusion lengths (3~5 μm) of both carriers are comparable to each other, a feature closely related to the unique charge trapping and de-trapping processes in hybrid trihalide perovskites. Our results unveil the origin of superior diffusion dynamics in this material, crucially important for solar-cell applications. 
    more » « less