Switching photodiodes based on (2D/3D) PdSe2/Si heterojunctions with a broadband spectral response

• Published in: Journal of materials chemistry. C, Materials for optical and electronic devices Materials for optical and electronic devices, 2021-03, Vol.9 (11), p.3998-4007
• Main Authors: Aftab, Sikandar, Samiya, Ms, Liao, Wugang, Muhammad Waqas Iqbal, Mavra Ishfaq, Ramachandraiah, Karna, Hafiz Muhammad Salman Ajmal, Hafiz Mansoor Ul Haque, Yousuf, Saqlain, Ahmed, Zaheer, khan, Muhammad Usman, Atteq Ur Rehman, Muhammad Zahir Iqbal
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Broadband; Electron avalanche; Heterojunctions; Incident light; Ionic liquids; Layered materials; Noble metals; Open circuit voltage; Optoelectronics; Palladium; Photodiodes; Photonic band gaps; Silicon; Sine waves; Spectral sensitivity; Switching
• ISSN: 2050-7526; 2050-7534
• DOI: 10.1039/d0tc05894g

Noble metal dichalcogenides (NMDs) are two-dimensional (2D) layered materials that exhibit outstanding thickness-dependent tunable-bandgaps that can be suitable for various optoelectronic applications. Here, we developed high-performance switching photodiodes based on mix-dimensional 2D palladium diselenide (PdSe2) and three-dimensional (3D) silicon (Si) heterojunctions with a broadband spectral response by a mechanical exfoliation technique. We studied the gate-tunable rectifying behavior of n-PdSe2/p-Si diodes employing an ionic liquid gate and achieved a maximum diode rectification ratio If/Ir up to ∼1.0 × 105 with the lowest value of ideality factor ∼1.22 (at Vtg = −2 V). At different temperatures (60 to 300 K), Zener tunneling and avalanche breakdown phenomena were detected at the junction of PdSe2–Si. These devices showed excellent self-driven photoresponses over broadband wavelengths from 400 to 1200 nm. The response speed of [Formula Omitted] estimated is 9.2/17.3 μs, which represents a fast photoresponse. Moreover, in our devices, open-circuit voltage (VOC = 0.6 V) switching behavior is attained with the on/off state of the incident light. Moreover, these devices were attested for dynamic rectification, and this effectively rectified an input alternating-voltage sine wave signal to an output signal. The results of this study indicate that 2D PdSe2 can be employed for high-performance optoelectronic applications.