Strained 2D Layered Materials and Heterojunctions

2D layered materials and heterojunctions with excellent ductility and controllable atomic‐layer thicknesses have shown promise for use in advanced electronics and optical functional devices. Tailoring of nanoscale configurations and physical properties is essential and required for bespoke fabrication of advanced devices based on 2D materials. Due to the high strain tolerance of 2D layered materials, strain engineering is an effective method to tune their behaviors of electrons and phonons. A wide variety of 2D materials are available with tunable bandgaps from interface coupling effects, making 2D layered heterojunctions a versatile platform for understanding fundamental physical issues. Most physical properties and functional applications can be tailored by applying strain to 2D layered materials and heterostructures to realize a scheduled target in carrier concentration, mobility, and barrier height. Herein, the latest research on the roles of strain in modulating the physical properties of 2D layered materials and heterojunctions is introduced, focusing on the physical properties behind strain modulation in 2D materials. Understanding and manipulating strain in 2D layered materials and heterojunctions is important and beneficial for creating tunable electronic and optoelectronic constructions with advanced components, including functional flexible and wearable devices.     

Photodetectors based on junctions of two-dimensional transition metal dichalcogenides

Transition metal dichalcogenides(TMDCs) have gained considerable attention because of their novel properties and great potential applications. The flakes of TMDCs not only have great light absorption from visible to near infrared, but also can be stacked together regardless of lattice mismatch like other two-dimensional(2D) materials. Along with the studies on intrinsic properties of TMDCs, the junctions based on TMDCs become more and more important in applications of photodetection. The junctions have shown many exciting possibilities to fully combine the advantages of TMDCs, other2 D materials, conventional and organic semiconductors together. Early studies have greatly enriched the application of TMDCs in photodetection. In this review, we investigate the efforts in photodetectors based on the junctions of TMDCs and analyze the properties of those photodetectors. Homojunctions based on TMDCs can be made by surface chemical doping,elemental doping and electrostatic gating. Heterojunction formed between TMDCs/2D materials, TMDCs/conventional semiconductors and TMDCs/organic semiconductor also deserve more attentions. We also compare the advantages and disadvantages of different junctions, and then give the prospects for the development of junctions based on TMDCs.     

Quantum interference effect in few-layered transition metal dichalcogenide

Van der Waals layered transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDCs), as atomically flat two-dimensional materials, have been studied extensively in both fundamental science and application fields in recent years. The reduced-dimensional properties of TMDCs not only provide a route for the fabricating of efficient field effect transistors and optoelectronic devices but also suggest the possibility of the devices that utilize quantum coherency. In this work, we characterize the electron transport properties of ReS₂, one of the TMDCs, at both room temperature and low temperature. Of particular note, we measured strong quantum conductance oscillations as a function of the gate voltages and source-drain voltages at reduced temperature, which is evidence of quantum coherent transport. This work unambiguously establishes ReS₂ as a promising candidate for future quantum materials.     

石墨烯纳米带的制备与电学特性调控

石墨烯由于其独特的晶体结构展现出了特殊的电学特性,其导带与价带相交于第一布里渊区的六个顶点处,形成带隙为零的半金属材料,具有优异的电子传输特性的同时也限制了其在电子学器件中的使用.因而科研人员尝试各种方法来打开其带隙并调控其能带特性,主要有利用缺陷、应力、掺杂、表面吸附、结构调控等手段.其中石墨烯纳米带由于量子边界效应和限制效应,存在带隙.本综述主要介绍了制备各类石墨烯纳米带的方法,并通过精确调控其细微结构,从而对其进行精确的能带调控,改变其电学特性,为其在电子学器件中的应用提供一些可行的方向.     

Investigation of the thermoelectric properties of one-layer transition metal dichalcogenides

Transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDCs) have attracted various research interests as one of the priorities of materials research due to their promising properties, especially in the field of thermoelectricity. The efficiency or performance of thermoelectric devices is expressed in terms of the thermoelectric figure-of-merit (ZT) – a standard indicator of a material's thermoelectric properties for use in cooling systems. The evaluation of ZT is principally determined by the thermoelectric characteristics of the nanomaterials. In this paper, a set of investigative computations was performed to study the thermoelectric properties of monolayer TMDCs according to the semiclassical treatment of the Boltzmann transport equation. It was confirmed that the thermoelectric properties of 2D materials can be greatly improved compared with their bulk properties. Calculations show an improvement in the power factor for the TMDCs under consideration, and, thus, the ZT compared to the bulk state due to an improvement in the Seebeck modulus and electrical conductivity, without significantly affecting the thermal conductivity and negatively affecting the ZT. These materials show clear characteristic variations at room temperature, with the highest ZT values of 2.919 and 2.873 obtained for WSe2 and WS2, respectively.     

Chemical vapor deposition growth of two-dimensional heterojunctions

The properties of two-dimensional (2D) layered materials with atom-smooth surface and special interlayer van der Waals coupling are different from those of traditional materials. Due to the absence of dangling bonds from the clean surface of 2D layered materials, the lattice mismatch influences slightly on the growth of 2D heterojunctions, thus providing a flexible design strategy. 2D heterojunctions have attracted extensive attention because of their excellent performance in optoelectronics, spintronics, and valleytronics. The transfer method was utilized for the fabrication of 2D heterojunctions during the early stage of fundamental research on these materials. This method, however, has limited practical applications. Therefore, chemical vapor deposition (CVD) method was recently developed and applied for the preparation of 2D heterojunctions. The CVD method is a naturally down-top growth strategy that yields 2D heterojunctions with sharp interfaces. Moreover, this method effectively reduces the introduction of contaminants to the fabricated heterojunctions. Nevertheless, the CVD-growth method is sensitive to variations in growth conditions. In this review article, we attempt to provide a comprehensive overview of the influence of growth conditions on the fabrication of 2D heterojunctions through the direct CVD method. We believe that elucidating the effects of growth conditions on the CVD method is necessary to help control and improve the efficiency of the large-scale fabrication of 2D heterojunctions for future applications in integrated circuits.     

Improving the device performances of two-dimensional semiconducting transition metal dichalcogenides: Three strategies

Two-dimensional (2D) semiconductors are emerging as promising candidates for the next-generation nanoelectronics. As a type of unique channel materials, 2D semiconducting transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDCs), such as MoS₂ and WS₂, exhibit great potential for the state-of-the-art field-effect transistors owing to their atomically thin thicknesses, dangling-band free surfaces, and abundant band structures. Even so, the device performances of 2D semiconducting TMDCs are still failing to reach the theoretical values so far, which is attributed to the intrinsic defects, excessive doping, and daunting contacts between electrodes and channels. In this article, we review the up-to-date three strategies for improving the device performances of 2D semiconducting TMDCs: (i) the controllable synthesis of wafer-scale 2D semiconducting TMDCs single crystals to reduce the evolution of grain boundaries, (ii) the ingenious doping of 2D semiconducting TMDCs to modulate the band structures and suppress the impurity scatterings, and (iii) the optimization design of interfacial contacts between electrodes and channels to reduce the Schottky barrier heights and contact resistances. In the end, the challenges regarding the improvement of device performances of 2D semiconducting TMDCs are highlighted, and the further research directions are also proposed. We believe that this review is comprehensive and insightful for downscaling the electronic devices and extending the Moore’s law.     

Photodetectors based on two-dimensional materials and organic thin-film heterojunctions

High-performance photodetectors are expected to open up revolutionary opportunities in many application fields, such as environment monitoring, military, optical communication and biomedical science. Combining two-dimensional materials(which have tunable optical absorption and high carrier mobility) with organic materials(which are abundant with low cost, high flexibility and large-area scalability) to form thin-film heterojunctions, high-responsivity photodetectors could be predicted with fast response speed in a wide spectra region.In this review, we give a comprehensive summary of photodetectors based on two-dimensional materials and organic thin-film heterojunctions, which includes hybrid assisted enhanced devices, single-layer enhanced devices, vertical heterojunction devices and tunable vertical heterojunction devices. We also give a systematic classification and perspectives on the future development of these types of photodetectors.     

Graphene-based heterojunction for enhanced photodetectors

Graphene has high light transmittance of 97.7% and ultrafast carrier mobility, which means it has attracted widespread attention in two-dimensional materials. However, the optical absorptivity of single-layer graphene is only 2.3%, and the corresponding photoresponsivity is difficult to produce at normal light irradiation. And the low on—off ratio resulting from the zero bandgap makes it unsuitable for many electronic devices, hindering potential development. The graphene-based heterojunction composed of graphene and other materials has outstanding optical and electrical properties, which can mutually modify the defects of both the graphene and material making it then suitable for optoelectronic devices. In this review, the advantages of graphene-based heterojunctions in the enhancement of the performance of photodetectors are reviewed. Firstly, we focus on the photocurrent generation mechanism of a graphene-based heterojunction photodetector, especially photovoltaic, photoconduction and photogating effects. Secondly, the classification of graphene-based heterojunctions in different directions is summarized. Meanwhile, the latest research progress of graphene-transition metal dichalcogenide (TMD) heterojunction photodetectors with excellent performance in graphene-based heterostructures is introduced. Finally, the difficulties faced by the existing technologies of graphene-based photodetectors are discussed, and further prospects are proposed.     

N、P掺杂硼烯/石墨烯异质结的密度泛函理论研究

采用基于密度泛函理论的第一性原理计算方法系统研究了氮、磷掺杂对硼烯/石墨烯异质结的几何结构和电子性质的影响.结果表明,相较完整硼烯/石墨烯异质结的金属特性,氮、磷掺杂的硼烯/石墨烯异质结均表现为半导体特性.室温下的分子动力学模拟进一步论证了相关体系的动力学稳定性.研究结果能够为硼烯/石墨烯异质结在新型二维半导体材料中的应用提供参考价值.     

高质量单层二硫化钼薄膜的研究进展

作为一种新型的二维半导体材料,单层二硫化钼薄膜由于其优异的特性,在电子学与光电子学等众多领域具有潜在的应用价值.本文综述了我们课题组在过去几年中针对单层二硫化钼薄膜的研究所取得的进展,具体包括:在二硫化钼薄膜的制备方面,通过氧辅助化学气相沉积方法,实现了大尺寸单层二硫化钼单晶的可控生长和晶圆级单层二硫化钼薄膜的高定向外延生长;在二硫化钼薄膜的加工方面,发展了单层二硫化钼薄膜的无损转移、洁净图案化加工、可控结构相变与局域相调控的方法,为场效应晶体管等电子学器件的制备与性能优化提供了基础;在二硫化钼异质结方面,研究了二硫化钼薄膜与其他二维材料形成的异质结的电学以及光电性质,为二维材料异质结的构筑和器件特性研究提供了实验参考;在二硫化钼薄膜功能化器件与应用方面,构筑了全二维材料、亚5 nm超短沟道场效应晶体管器件,验证了单层二硫化钼对短沟道效应的有效抑制及其在5 nm工艺节点器件中的应用优势;此外,利用制备的高质量单层二硫化钼和发展的器件洁净加工技术,实现了高性能柔性薄膜晶体管的集成,获得了超高灵敏度与稳定性的非接触型湿度传感器.我们在二硫化钼薄膜的制备、加工以及器件特性研究方面所取得的进展对于二硫化钼及其他二维过渡金属硫属化合物的基础和应用研究均具有指导意义.     

Electronic Transport and Thermopower in 2D and 3D Heterostructures—A Theory Perspective

The impact of interfaces and heterojuctions on the electronic and thermoelectric transport properties of materials is discussed herein. Recent progress in understanding electronic transport in heterostructures of 2D materials ranging from graphene to transition metal dichalcogenides, their homojunctions (grain boundaries), lateral heterojunctions (such as graphene/MoS₂ lateral interfaces), and vertical van der Waals heterostructures is reviewed. Work on thermopower in 2D heterojunctions, as well as their applications in creating devices such as resonant tunneling diodes (RTDs), is also discussed. Last, the focus turns to work in 3D heterostructures. While transport in 3D heterostructures has been researched for several decades, here recent progress in theory and simulation of quantum effects on transport via the Wigner and non‐equilibrium Green's functions approaches is reviewed. These simulation techniques have been successfully applied toward understanding the impact of heterojunctions on transport properties and thermopower, which finds applications in energy harvesting, and electron resonant tunneling, with applications in RTDs. In conclusion, tremendous progress has been made in both simulation and experiments toward the goal of understanding transport in heterostructures and this progress will soon be parlayed into improved energy converters and quantum nanoelectronic devices.     

Defect repairing in two-dimensional transition metal dichalcogenides

Atomically thin two-dimensional (2D) transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDCs) have stimulated enormous research interest due to rich phase structure, high theoretical carrier mobility and layer-dependent bandgap. In view of the close correlation between defects and properties in 2D TMDCs, more attentions have been paid on the defect engineering in recent years, however the mechanism is still unclear. Herein, we review the critical progress of defect engineering and provide an extensive way to modulate the properties depressed by defects. To insight into the defect engineering, we firstly introduce two common kinds of defects during the growth progress of TMDCs and the possible distribution of energy levels those defects could induce. Then, various methods to improve point defects and grain boundaries during the period of growth are discussed intensively, with the assistance of which more large-area TMDCs films can be obtained. Considering the defects in TMDCs are inevitable regardless of concentration, we also highlight strategies to heal the defects after growth. Through dry methods or wet methods, the chalcogen vacancies can be repaired and thus, the performance of electronic device would be significantly enhanced. Finally, we propose the challenges and prospective for defect engineering in 2D TMDCs materials to support the optimization of device and lead them to wide applied fields.     

Interlayer coupling effect in van der Waals heterostructures of transition metal dichalcogenides

Van der Waals(vdW)heterobilayers formed by two-dimensional(2D)transition metal dichalcogenides(TMDCs)created a promising platform for various electronic and optical properties,ab initio band results indicate that the band offset of type-Ⅱband alignment in TMDCs vdW heterobilayer could be tuned by introducing Janus WSSe monolayer,instead of an external electric field.On the basis of symmetry analysis,the allowed interlayer hopping channels of TMDCs vdW heterobilayer were determined,and a four-level k·p model was developed to obtain the interlayer hopping.Results indicate that the interlayer coupling strength could be tuned by interlayer electric polarization featured by various band offsets.Moreover,the difference in the formation mechanism of interlayer valley excitons in different TMDCs vdW heterobilayers with various interlayer hopping strength was also clarified.     

二维平面和范德瓦耳斯异质结的可控制备与光电应用

自石墨烯被发现以来,二维材料因其优异的特性获得了持续且深入的探索与发展,以石墨烯、六方氮化硼、过渡金属硫化物、黑磷等为代表的二维材料相关研究层出不穷.随着二维新材料制备与应用探索的不断发展,单一材料性能的不足逐渐凸显,研究者们开始考虑采用平面拼接和层间堆垛所产生的协同效应来弥补单一材料的不足,甚至获得一些新的性能.利用二维材料晶格结构的匹配构建异质结,实现特定的功能化,或利用范德瓦耳斯力进行堆垛,将不同二维材料排列组合,从而在体系里引入新的自由度,为二维材料的性质研究和实际应用打开了新的窗口.本文从原子制造角度,介绍了二维平面和范德瓦耳斯异质结材料的可控制备和光电应用.首先简要介绍了应用于异质结制备的常见二维材料的分类及异质结的相关概念,然后从原理上分类列举了常用的表征方法,随后介绍了平面和垂直异质结的制备方法,并对其光电性质及器件应用做了简要介绍.最后,对领域内存在的问题进行了讨论,对未来发展方向做出了展望.     

Electronic structures and elastic properties of monolayer and bilayer transition metal dichalcogenides MX_2(M= Mo,W;X= O,S,Se,Te):A comparative first-principles study

First-principle calculations with different exchange-correlation functionals, including LDA, PBE, and vd W-DF functional in the form of opt B88-vd W, have been performed to investigate the electronic and elastic properties of twodimensional transition metal dichalcogenides(TMDCs) with the formula of MX2(M = Mo, W; X = O, S, Se, Te) in both monolayer and bilayer structures. The calculated band structures show a direct band gap for monolayer TMDCs at the K point except for MoO2 and WO2. When the monolayers are stacked into a bilayer, the reduced indirect band gaps are found except for bilayer WTe2, in which the direct gap is still present at the K point. The calculated in-plane Young moduli are comparable to that of graphene, which promises possible application of TMDCs in future flexible and stretchable electronic devices. We also evaluated the performance of different functionals including LDA, PBE, and opt B88-vd W in describing elastic moduli of TMDCs and found that LDA seems to be the most qualified method. Moreover, our calculations suggest that the Young moduli for bilayers are insensitive to stacking orders and the mechanical coupling between monolayers seems to be negligible.     

Structural and electronic properties of composite BxCyNz nanotubes and heterojunctions

x C_yN_z nanotubes and related heterojunctions have been studied using both ab initio and semi-empirical approaches. Pure BN nanotubes present a very stable quasiparticle band gap around 5.5–6.0 eV independent of the tube radius and helicity. The bottom of the conduction bands is controlled by a nearly-free-electronn state localized inside the nanotube, suggesting interesting properties under doping. In the case of nanotubes with BC₂N stoichiometry, we show that in the thermodynamic limit the system is driven towards segregation of pure C and BN sections. This demixing significantly affects the electronic properties of such materials. The same process of segregation into BC₃ islands is evidenced in the case of B-doped carbon nanotubes. These spontaneous segregation processes lead to the formation of quantum dots or nanotube heterojunctions. In particular, C/BN superlattices or isolated junctions have been investigated as specific examples of the wide variety of electronic devices that can be realized using such nanotubes. Received: 27 November 1998 / Accepted: 14 December 1998     

2D noncarbon materials-based nonlinear optical devices for ultrafast photonics [Invited]

Ultrafast lasers play an important role in a variety of applications ranging from optical communications to medical diagnostics and industrial materials processing. Graphene and other two-dimensional(2D) noncarbon materials, including topological insulators(TIs), transition metal dichalcogenides(TMDCs), phosphorene, bismuthene, and antimonene, have witnessed a very fast development of both fundamental and practical aspects in ultrafast photonics since 2009. Their unique nonlinear optical properties enable them to be used as excellent saturable absorbers(SAs) that have fast responses and broadband operation, and can be easily integrated into lasers. Here, we catalog and review recent progress in the exploitation of these 2D noncarbon materials in this emerging field. The fabrication techniques, nonlinear optical properties, and device integration strategies of 2D noncarbon materials are first introduced with a comprehensive view. Then, various mode-locked/Q-switched lasers(e.g., fiber, solid-state, disk, and waveguide lasers) based on 2D noncarbon materials are reviewed. In addition, versatile soliton pulses generated from the mode-locked fiber lasers based on 2D noncarbon materials are also summarized. Finally, future challenges and perspectives of 2D materials-based lasers are addressed.     

Effect of electrical contact on performance of WSe2 field effect transistors

Two-dimensional (2D) transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDCs) such as tungsten diselenide (WSe₂) have spead many interesting physical properties, which may become ideal candidates to develop new generation electronic and optoelectronic devices. In order to reveal essential features of 2D TMDCs, it is necessary to fabricate high-quality devices with reliable electrical contact. We systematically analyze the effect of graphene and metal contacts on performance of multi-layered WSe₂ field effect transistors (FETs). The temperature-dependent transport characteristics of both devices are tested. Only graphene-contacted WSe₂ FETs are observed with the metal-insulator transition phenomenon which mainly attributes to the ultra-clean contact interface and lowered contact barrier. Further characterization on contact barrier demonstrates that graphene contact enables lower contact barrier with WSe₂ than metal contact, since the Fermi level of graphene can be modulated by the gate bias to match the Fermi level of the channel material. We also analyze the carrier mobility of both devices under different temperatures, revealing that graphene contact can reduce the charge scattering of the device caused by ionized impurities and phonon vibrations in low and room temperature regions, respectively. This work is expected to provide reference for fabricating 2D material devices with decent performances.     

Ultrafast photoelectric effects and high-sensitive photovoltages in perovskite oxides and heterojunctions

Perovskite oxides and heterojunctions have attracted much attention due to their multifunctional properties of electricity and optics and magnetic as well as the very good chemical and thermal stability. In this brief review, we describe the novel progress of researches in the optical characteristic, including ultrafast photoelectric effects of picosecond order in perovskite oxide single crystals, thin-films and heterojunctions, high-sensitive photovoltages, the enhanced transient lateral photovoltages in perovskite oxide thin-films and heterojunctions, and the high-sensitive ultraviolet (UV) photodetectors based on perovskite oxides. The recent advances present in this paper not only could stimulate theoretical studies on the mechanism but also would open up the possibilities in the developments of optoelectronic devices based on perovskite oxides and heterojunctions.