Self-Powered Broad-band Photodetectors Based on Vertically Stacked WSe₂/Bi₂Te₃ <i>p–n</i> Heterojunctions

Abstract

Semiconducting <i>p-n</i> heterojunctions, serving as the basic unit of modern electronic devices, such as photodetectors, solar-energy conversion devices, and light-emitting diodes (LEDs), have been extensively investigated in recent years. In this work, high performance self-powered broad-band photodetectors were fabricated based on vertically stacked <i>p-n</i> heterojunctions though combining <i>p-</i>type WSe₂ with <i>n-</i>type Bi₂Te₃ via van der Waals (vdW) epitaxial growth. Devices based on the <i>p-n</i> heterojunction show obvious current rectification behaviors in the dark and superior photovoltaic characteristics under light irradiation. A maximum short circuit current of 18 nA and open circuit voltage of 0.25 V can be achieved with the illumination light of 633 nm (power density: 26.4 mW/cm²), which are among the highest values compared with the ever reported 2D vdW heterojunctions synthesized by chemical vapor deposition (CVD) method. Benefiting from the broad-band absorption of the heterostructures, the detection range can be expanded from the visible to near-infrared (375-1550 nm). Moreover, ascribing to the efficient carriers separation process at the junction interfaces, the devices can be further employed as self-powered photodetectors, where a fast response time (∼210 μs) and high responsivity (20.5 A/W at 633 nm and 27 mA/W at 1550 nm) are obtained under zero bias voltage. The WSe₂/Bi₂Te₃ <i>p-n</i> heterojunction-based self-powered photodetectors with high photoresponsivity, fast photoresponse time, and broad spectral response will find potential applications in high speed and self-sufficient broad-band devices.