Interlayer Transition and Infrared Photodetection in Atomically Thin Type-II MoTe₂/MoS₂ van der Waals Heterostructures

Abstract

We demonstrate the type-II staggered band alignment in MoTe2/MoS2 van der Waals (vdW) heterostructures and an interlayer optical transition at ∼1.55 μm. The photoinduced charge separation between the MoTe2/MoS2 vdW heterostructure is verified by Kelvin probe force microscopy (KPFM) under illumination, density function theory (DFT) simulations and photoluminescence (PL) spectroscopy. Photoelectrical measurements of MoTe2/MoS2 vdW heterostructures show a distinct photocurrent response in the infrared regime (1550 nm). The creation of type-II vdW heterostructures with strong interlayer coupling could improve our fundamental understanding of the essential physics behind vdW heterostructures and help the design of next-generation infrared optoelectronics.