Gate tunable photovoltaic effect in MoS2 vertical p-n homostructures

p-n junctions based on vertically stacked single or few-layer transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDCs) have attracted substantial scientific interest. Due to the propensity of TMDCs to show exclusively one type of conductivity, n- or p-type, heterojunctions of different materials are typically fabricated to produce diode-like current rectification and photovoltaic response. Recently, artificial, stable and substitutional doping of MoS2 into n- and p-type materials has been demonstrated. MoS2 is an interesting material for use in optoelectronic applications due to its potential of low-cost production in large quantities, strong light-matter interactions and chemical stability. Here we report the characterization of the optoelectronic properties of vertical homojunctions made by stacking few-layer flakes of MoS2: Fe (n-type) and MoS2: Nb (p-type). The junctions exhibit a peak external quantum efficiency of 4.7% and a maximum open circuit voltage of 0.51 V; they are stable in air; and their rectification characteristics and photovoltaic response are in excellent agreement with the Shockley diode model. The gate-tunability of the maximum output power, the ideality factor and the shunt resistance indicate that the dark current is dominated by trapassisted recombination and that the photocurrent collection depends strongly on the spatial extent of the space charge region. We demonstrate a response time faster than 80 ms and highlight the potential to integrate such devices into quasi-transparent and flexible optoelectronics.