Electrochemically exfoliated phosphorene nanosheet thin films for wafer-scale near-infrared phototransistor array

Abstract

Two-dimensional (2D) black phosphorus (BP), or phosphorene, has recently emerged as a promising 2D semiconductor because of its p-type charge transport behavior and near-infrared photoresponsivity. However, the application of BP in practical electronic and optoelectronic devices is hindered by challenges in producing high-quality BP films over large areas. In this manuscript, we present a facile solution-based process to create wafer-scale BP films for fabrication of p-channel field-effect transistors that are responsive to near infrared light. Few-layer BP nanosheets are first exfoliated from the bulk crystal via electrochemical intercalation of cationic molecules and then vacuum-filtered through an anodic aluminum oxide membrane. The resulting BP film can be transferred onto an SiO2-coated silicon substrate, thereby allowing for realization of field-effect transistors after electrode deposition and thermal annealing. The transistor array exhibits spatial uniformity in electrical performance with an average hole mobility of ~0.002 cm2 V−1 s−1 and on/off ratio of 130. Furthermore, gate-induced modulation of the BP channel allows for enhancement in the photoresponsivity for 1550-nm light illumination up to 24 mA W−1, which benefits the application of the phototransistor array for near infrared imaging.