2D Heterostructures for Ubiquitous Electronics and Optoelectronics: Principles, Opportunities, and Challenges

Abstract

A grand family of two-dimensional (2D) materials and their heterostructures have been discovered through the extensive experimental and theoretical efforts of chemists, material scientists, physicists, and technologists. These pioneering works contribute to realizing the fundamental platforms to explore and analyze new physical/chemical properties and technological phenomena at the micro–nano–pico scales. Engineering 2D van der Waals (vdW) materials and their heterostructures via chemical and physical methods with a suitable choice of stacking order, thickness, and interlayer interactions enable exotic carrier dynamics, showing potential in high-frequency electronics, broadband optoelectronics, low-power neuromorphic computing, and ubiquitous electronics. This comprehensive review addresses recent advances in terms of representative 2D materials, the general fabrication methods, and characterization techniques and the vital role of the physical parameters affecting the quality of 2D heterostructures. The main emphasis is on 2D heterostructures and 3D-bulk (3D) hybrid systems exhibiting intrinsic quantum mechanical responses in the optical, valley, and topological states. Finally, we discuss the universality of 2D heterostructures with representative applications and trends for future electronics and optoelectronics (FEO) under the challenges and opportunities from physical, nanotechnological, and material synthesis perspectives.

2D Materials for Efficient Photodetection: Overview, Mechanisms, Performance and UV-IR Range Applications

“…The WS 2 based flexible photodetectors were reported at the operating wavelength of the visible to IR ranges with a high photo-responsivity of 4.04 mAW −1 ( Li et al, 2020 ). Other WS 2 -graphene combinations, such as Graphene-WS 2 -Graphene, have also been reported at an illumination wavelength of 0.532 µm ( Pham et al, 2022 ). This report showed an increased detectivity and photoresponsivity of 10 11 jones and 3.5 AW −1 respectively for the Graphene-WS 2 -Graphene combination.…”

“…It is known that the photodetection performance of the TMDCs is excellent, with the general estimation of their responsivity range as 10 −7 –10 7 AW −1 whereas the range of their response time is estimated as 10 −5 –10 3 s from literature studies ( Yin et al, 2012 ; Lopez-Sanchez et al, 2013 ; Perea ‐ López et al, 2013 ; Abderrahmane et al, 2014 ; Zhang et al, 2014b ; Pham et al, 2022 ). In addition, along this line, an enhancement of the responsivity was also observed at the material trap site or at the material-dielectric interface.…”

“…The response speed has an inverse relationship with trap sites usually. Along with the aforementioned TMDCs-based photodetectors, Pham et al described various other single and multi-layered photodetectors with their specific operating conditions and parameters ( Pham et al, 2022 ). Moreover, synthesis methods, the surrounding environment, and the number of layers is also important factors that should be considered in enhancing the device’s performance.…”

Pressure-Induced Bandgap Engineering and Tuning Optical Responses of Cd0.25Zn0.75S Alloy for Optoelectronic and Photovoltaic Applications

“…Bandgap tailoring of II-VI direct and wide bandgap semiconductors has recently attracted substantial attention because of their potential applications in a variety of photonic and optoelectronic devices ranging from light emitters, solar cells, laser diodes, and electroluminescence [ 2 , 3 , 4 , 5 , 6 ]. The CdZnS ternary alloys are one of the wide bandgap semiconductors that have high stability and are used in the fabrication of photovoltaic, photoconductive, photoluminescent, photocatalytic, and luminescent devices [ 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 , 5 , 6 , 7 ].…”

“…Bandgap tailoring of II-VI direct and wide bandgap semiconductors has recently attracted substantial attention because of their potential applications in a variety of photonic and optoelectronic devices ranging from light emitters, solar cells, laser diodes, and electroluminescence [ 2 , 3 , 4 , 5 , 6 ]. The CdZnS ternary alloys are one of the wide bandgap semiconductors that have high stability and are used in the fabrication of photovoltaic, photoconductive, photoluminescent, photocatalytic, and luminescent devices [ 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 , 5 , 6 , 7 ]. Thin films of CdZnS alloys have been synthesized using limited solid solutions of cadmium–zinc sulfides [ 8 ], as well as a chemical bath deposition technique [ 9 ], whereas nanocrystals and nanocomposites have been reported using the successive ionic layer adsorption and reaction (SILAR) method [ 10 ], the sonochemical method [ 11 ], the hydrothermal method [ 12 ], the solvothermal method [ 13 ], the microemulsion technique [ 14 ], vapor transport chemical conversion [ 15 ], spray pyrolysis [ 16 ], and reverse pyrolysis [ 17 ].…”