Gate-controlled photoresponse improvement in b-AsP/WSe2 heterostructures with type-I band alignment

Abstract

As a promising two-dimensional (2D) layered material, black arsenic phosphorus (b-AsP) alloys have received growing attention due to their unique properties and their ability for high-performance broadband photodetection. However, high dark current and slow response speed have already become bottlenecks for further development. Manual vertical van der Waals heterojunctions made of different 2D materials offer opportunities to alleviate such bottlenecks in a simple and low-energy way. The rational design of band alignment can facilitate device performance. In this work, we design and achieve a type-I vertically stacked WSe2/b-As0.084P0.916 device, which exhibits a rectification ratio of 102 along with an unusual backward current as low as 10−12 A. As such, this device can function as an ultrasensitive photodetector, which shows excellent photoresponse properties from the visible to near-infrared region (275–850 nm), with a responsivity of 244 A/W, a specific detectivity of 2.27 × 1012 Jones, and a fast response speed of τrise ≈ 5.1 ms and τdecay ≈ 4 ms. Compared to the dark state, the hole mobility under light stimulation is raised more than ten times (from 1.1 to 12.1 cm2 V−1 s−1), which contributes to numerous excited electron–hole pair transfers from WSe2 to b-As0.084P0.916. The responsivity and detectivity increase by 5 and 3 orders of magnitude, respectively, after applying gate voltage, indicating remarkable gate-controlled properties. These results suggest that the WSe2/b-As0.084P0.916 heterostructure is a promising candidate for future electronic and optoelectronic applications.