Modulating the Function of GeAs/ReS2 van der Waals Heterojunction with its Potential Application for Short-Wave Infrared and Polarization-Sensitive Photodetection

Van der Waals heterojunction (vdWs) of 2D materials with integrated or extended superior characteristics, opening up new opportunities in functional electronic and optoelectric device applications. Exploring methods to achieve multifunctional vdWs heterojunction devices is one of the most promising prospects in this area. Herein, a diverse function of forward rectifying diode, Zener tunneling diode, and backward rectifying diodes are realized in GeAs/ReS2 heterojunction by modulating the doping level of GeAs. The tunneling diode presents an interesting trend forward negative differential resistance (NDR) behavior which may facilitate the application of multi-value logic. More importantly, the GeAs/ReS2 forward rectifying diode exhibits highly sensitive photodetection in the wide-spectrum range up to 1550 nm corresponding to a short-wave infrared (SWIR) region. In addition, as two strong anisotropic 2D materials of GeAs and ReS2, the heterojunction exhibits strong polarization-sensitive photodetection behavior with a dichroic photocurrent ratio of 1.7. This work provides an effective strategy to achieve multifunctional 2D vdW heterojunction devices and develops more possibilities to broaden their functionalities and applications.

Automated summary

In this study, multifunctional vdWs heterojunction devices were achieved by modulating the doping level of GeAs in the GeAs/ReS2 heterojunction, which demonstrated characteristics of forward rectifying diode, Zener tunneling diode, and backward rectifying diodes. The tunneling diode exhibited interesting forward negative differential resistance (NDR) behavior and the GeAs/ReS2 forward rectifying diode demonstrated highly sensitive photodetection in the wide-spectrum range up to 1550 nm. Moreover, the polarization-sensitive photodetection behavior with a dichroic photocurrent ratio of 1.7 was observed in the GeAs/ReS2 heterojunction.