Layer-dependent photoresponse of 2D MoS2 films prepared by pulsed laser deposition

• Published in: Journal of materials chemistry. C, Materials for optical and electronic devices Materials for optical and electronic devices, 2019-03, Vol.7 (9), p.2522-2529
• Main Authors: Jiao, Lei, Jie, Wenjing, Yang, Zhibin, Wang, Yuehui, Chen, Zhengwei, Zhang, Xiao, Tang, Weihua, Wu, Zhenping, Hao, Jianhua
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Bilayers; Gold; Lasers; Molybdenum disulfide; Monolayers; Multilayers; Photometers; Pulsed laser deposition; Pulsed lasers; Thickness
• ISSN: 2050-7526; 2050-7534
• DOI: 10.1039/c8tc04612c

Due to the layered structure and thickness-dependent bandgap of MoS 2 , it is intriguing to investigate the layer-dependent performance of MoS 2 based photodetectors. In this work, centimeter-scale layered MoS 2 films with different layer numbers are achieved by using pulsed laser deposition by controlling the number of laser pulses. The measurement of transport characteristics in the dark indicates a Schottky barrier contact formed at the Au/MoS 2 interface. The obtained metal-semiconductor-metal MoS 2 based photodetectors present a UV-to-NIR photoresponse with high stability. When the thickness of the film is decreased, the photoresponse of the MoS 2 photodetectors gradually increases from multilayer to bilayer, and more importantly, a notable enhancement in the photoresponse for the monolayer can be observed. In particular, a photoresponsivity of 1.96 A W −1 is achieved in monolayer MoS 2 samples under illumination with a wavelength of 300 nm. The physical mechanism responsible for the observation is discussed based on the layer dependent Schottky barrier variation and the indirect-to-direct energy band transition in MoS 2 . Our work provides an insight into layer-dependent optical behavior in MoS 2 films, which should be helpful for developing further large-scale photosensing applications in the atomic limit. Due to the layered structure and thickness-dependent bandgap of MoS 2 , it is intriguing to investigate the layer-dependent performance of MoS 2 based photodetectors.