Flexible High‐Performance Photovoltaic Devices based on 2D MoS2 Diodes with Geometrically Asymmetric Contact Areas

• Published in: Advanced functional materials 2023-02, Vol.33 (7), p.n/a
• Main Authors: Abnavi, Amin, Ahmadi, Ribwar, Ghanbari, Hamidreza, Fawzy, Mirette, Hasani, Amirhossein, De Silva, Thushani, Askar, Abdelrahman M., Mohammadzadeh, Mohammad Reza, Kabir, Fahmid, Whitwick, Michael, Beaudoin, Mario, O'Leary, Stephen K., Adachi, Michael M.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: asymmetric geometry diodes; Asymmetry; Bend radius; Circuits; Computer architecture; Diodes; Energy conversion efficiency; flexible electronics; flexible solar cells; Materials science; Molybdenum disulfide; MoS2; Optoelectronic devices; P-n junctions; Photoelectric effect; Photovoltaic cells; photovoltaics; Response time; self‐powered photodetectors; Solar cells; Substrates; Transition metal compounds
• ISSN: 1616-301X; 1616-3028
• DOI: 10.1002/adfm.202210619

Optoelectronic performance of 2D transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDs)‐based solar cells and self‐powered photodetectors remain limited due to fabrication challenges, such as difficulty in doping TMDs to form p–n junctions. Herein, MoS2 diodes based on geometrically asymmetric contact areas are shown to achieve a high current rectification ratio of ≈105, facilitating efficient photovoltaic charge collection. Under solar illumination, the device demonstrates a high open‐circuit voltage (Voc) of 430 mV and a short‐circuit current density (Jsc) of −13.42 mA cm−2, resulting in a high photovoltaic power conversion efficiency (PCE) of 3.16%, the highest reported for a lateral 2D solar cell. The diodes also show a high photoresponsivity of 490.3 mA W−1, and a large photo detectivity of 4.05 × 1010 Jones, along with a fast response time of 0.8 ms under 450 nm wavelength at zero bias for self‐powered photodetection applications. The device transferred on a flexible substrate shows a high photocurrent and PCE retentions of 94.4%, and 88.2% after 5000 bending cycles at a bending radius of 1.5 cm, respectively, demonstrating robustness for flexible optoelectronic applications. The simple fabrication process, superior photovoltaic properties, and high flexibility suggests that the geometrically asymmetric MoS2 device architecture is an excellent candidate for flexible photovoltaic and optoelectronic applications. A high‐performance lateral photovoltaic device is reported based on the geometrically asymmetric MoS2 diode, which greatly simplifies the fabrication process of solar cells due to the absence of doping and complicated fabrication steps. This device shows high performance along with superior flexibility, making it an excellent candidate for wearable solar cells and optoelectronic devices.