Diodes made of heterostructures of the 2D material graphene and conventional 3D materials are reviewed in this manuscript. Several applications in high frequency electronics and optoelectronics are highlighted. In particular, advantages of metal-insulator-graphene (MIG) diodes over conventional metal-insulator-metal diodes are discussed with respect to relevant figures-of-merit. The MIG concept is extended to 1D diodes. Several experimentally implemented radio frequency circuit applications with MIG diodes as active elements are presented. Furthermore, graphene-silicon Schottky diodes as well as MIG diodes are reviewed in terms of their potential for photodetection. Here, graphene-based diodes have the potential to outperform conventional photodetectors in several key figures-of-merit, such as overall responsivity or dark current levels. Obviously, advantages in some areas may come at the cost of disadvantages in others, so that 2D/3D diodes need to be tailored in application-specific ways.
Laser diodes with optical feedback can exhibit periodic intensity oscillations at or near the relaxation-oscillation frequency. We demonstrate optoelectronic oscillators based on external-cavity semiconductor lasers in a periodic dynamical regime tunable over the entire X-band. Moreover, unlike standard optoelectronic oscillators, we need not employ the time-dependent optical intensity incident on a photodiode to generate the microwave signal, but rather have the option of generating the electrical microwave signal directly as a voltage $V(t)$ at the laser-diode injection terminals under const…
We investigate a two-dimensional (2D) heterostructure consisting of few-layer direct bandgap ReS2, a thin h-BN layer and a monolayer graphene for application to various electronic devices. Metal-insulator-semiconductor (MIS)-type devices with two-dimensional (2D) van-der-Waals (vdW) heterostructures have recently been studied as important components to realize various multifunctional device applications in analogue and digital electronics. The tunnel diodes of ReS2/h-BN/graphene exhibit light tuneable rectifying behaviours with low ideality factors and nearly temperature independent electrical…
Discovery of two-dimensional materials with unique electronic, superior optoelectronic or intrinsic magnetic order have triggered worldwide interests among the fields of material science, condensed matter physics and device physics. Vertically stacking of two-dimensional materials with distinct electronic and optical as well as magnetic properties enables to create a large variety of van der Waals heterostructures. The diverse properties of the vertical heterostructures open up unprecedented opportunities for various kinds of device applications, e.g. vertical field effect transistors, ultrase…
Excitable optoelectronic devices represent one of the key building blocks for implementation of artificial spiking neurons in neuromorphic (brain-inspired) photonic systems. This work introduces and experimentally investigates an opto-electro-optical (O/E/O) artificial neuron built with a resonant tunnelling diode (RTD) coupled to a photodetector as a receiver and a vertical cavity surface emitting laser as a the transmitter. We demonstrate a well defined excitability threshold, above which this neuron produces 100 ns optical spiking responses with characteristic neural-like refractory period.…
In this work, we introduce an optoelectronic spiking artificial neuron capable of operating at ultrafast rates ($\approx$ 100 ps/optical spike) and with low energy consumption ($<$ pJ/spike). The proposed system combines an excitable resonant tunnelling diode (RTD) element exhibiting negative differential conductance, coupled to a nanoscale light source (forming a master node) or a photodetector (forming a receiver node). We study numerically the spiking dynamical responses and information propagation functionality of an interconnected master-receiver RTD node system. Using the key functionali…
III-Nitride light emitting diodes (LEDs) are widely used in a range of high efficiency lighting and display applications, which have enabled significant energy savings in the last decade. Despite the wide application of GaN LEDs, transport mechanisms across InGaN/GaN heterostructures in these devices are not well-explained. Fixed polarization sheet charges at InGaN/GaN interfaces lead to large interface dipole charges, which create large potential barriers to overcome. One-dimensional models for transport across such heterostructures predict turn-on voltages that are significantly higher than …
The observation of low energy edge photoluminescence and its beneficial effect on the solar cell efficiency of Ruddlesden-Popper perovskites has unleashed an intensive research effort to reveal its origin. This effort, however, has been met with more challenges as the underlying material structure has still not been identified; new modellings and observations also do not seem to converge. Using 2D (BA)2(MA)2Pb3Br10 as an example, we show that 3D MAPbBr3 is formed due to the loss of BA on the edge. This self-formed MAPbBr3 can explain the reported edge emission under various conditions, while t…
Light-emitting diodes (LEDs) based on III-V/II-VI materials have delivered a compelling performance in the mid-infrared (mid-IR) region, which enabled wide-ranging applications, including environmental monitoring, defense and medical diagnostics. Continued efforts are underway to realize on-chip sensors via heterogeneous integration of mid-IR emitters on a silicon photonic chip. But the uptake of such approach is limited by the high costs and interfacial strains, associated with the process of heterogeneous integrations. Here, the black phosphorus (BP)-based van der Waals (vdW) heterostructure…
Spectroscopic Signature of Local Alloy Fluctuations in InGaN/GaN Multi-Quantum-Disk Light Emitting Diode Heterostructures and Its Impact on the Optical Performance
Heterostructures comprising of silicon (Si), molybdenum disulfide (MoS${_2}$) and graphene are investigated with respect to the vertical current conduction mechanism. The measured current-voltage (I-V) characteristics exhibit temperature dependent asymmetric current, indicating thermally activated charge carrier transport. The data is compared and fitted to a current transport model that confirms thermionic emission as the responsible transport mechanism across the devices. Theoretical calculations in combination with the experimental data suggest that the heterojunction barrier from Si to MoS…
Integrating two-dimensional (2D) crystals into optical fibers can grant them optoelectronic properties and extend their range of applications. However, our ability to produce complicated structures is limited by the challenges of chemical vapor deposition (CVD) manufacturing. Here, we successfully demonstrate a 2D-material heterostructure created on a fiber endface by integrating a microscale multilayer graphene-MoS2-WS2 van der Waals (vdW) heterostructure film on it. Hence, based on simple layer-by-layer transferring, a visible-to-infrared gating-free all-in-fiber photodetector (FPD) is produ…
We present the optoelectronic characterization of two graphene/silicon Schottky junctions, fabricated by transferring CVD-graphene on flat and nanotip-patterned n-Si substrates, respectively. We demonstrate record photo responsivity, exceeding 2.5 A/W under white light, which we attribute to the contribution of charges photogenerated in the surrounding region of the flat junction or to the internal gain by impact ionization caused by the enhanced field on the nanotips.
Perovskite-based optoelectronic devices have gained significant attention due to their remarkable performance and low processing cost, particularly for solar cells. However, for perovskite light-emitting diodes (LEDs), non-radiative charge carrier recombination has limited electroluminescence (EL) efficiency. Here we demonstrate perovskite-polymer bulk heterostructure LEDs exhibiting record-high external quantum efficiencies (EQEs) exceeding 20%, and an EL half-life of 46 hours under continuous operation. This performance is achieved with an emissive layer comprising quasi-2D and 3D perovskite…
The coupling of electronic degrees of freedom in materials to create hybridized functionalities is a holy grail of modern condensed matter physics that may produce novel mechanisms of control. Correlated electron systems often exhibit coupled degrees of freedom with a high degree of tunability which sometimes lead to hybridized functionalities based on external stimuli. However, the mechanisms of tunability and the sensitivity to external stimuli are determined by intrinsic material properties which are not always controllable. A Mott metal-insulator transition, which is technologically attrac…
Halide perovskites are promising materials for light-emitting and light-harvesting applications. In this context, two-dimensional perovskites such as nanoplatelets or Ruddlesden-Popper and Dion-Jacobson layered structures are important because of their structural flexibility, electronic confinement, and better stability. This review article brings forth an extensive overview of the recent developments of two-dimensional halide perovskites both in the colloidal and non-colloidal forms. We outline the strategy to synthesize and control the shape and discuss different crystalline phases and optoe…
Heterostructures increasingly attracted attention over the past several years to enable various optoelectronic and photonic applications. In this work, atomically thin interfaces of Ir/Al2O3 heterostructures compatible with micro-optoelectronic technologies are reported. Their structural and optical properties were determined by spectroscopic and microscopic techniques (XRR, XPS, HRTEM, spectroscopic ellipsometry, and UV/VIS/NIR spectrophotometry). The XRR and HRTEM analyses reveal a layer-by-layer growth mechanism of Ir in atomic scale heterostructures, which is different from the typical isl…
Monolayers of transition metal dichalcogenides are semiconducting materials which offer many prospects in optoelectronics. A monolayer of molybdenum disulfide (MoS2) has a direct bandgap of 1.88 eV. Hence, when excited with optical photon energies below its bandgap, no photocarriers are generated and a monolayer of MoS2 is not of much use in either photovoltaics or photodetection. Here, we demonstrate that large size MoS2 monolayer sandwiched between two graphene layers makes this heterostructure optically active well below the band gap of MoS2. An ultrafast optical pump-THz probe experiment r…
Two dimensional (2D) van der Waals heterostructures (vdWHs) have their unique potential in facilitating the stacking of layers of different 2D materials for optoelectronic devices with superior characteristics at a reduced cost. However, the fabrication of large area all-2D heterostructures is still challenging towards realizing practical devices. In the present work, we have demonstrated a rapid yet simple, impurity free and highly efficient sonication-assisted chemical exfoliation approach to synthesize hybrid vdWHs based on 2D molybdenum disulphide (MoS$_2$) and tungsten disulphide (WS$_2$)…
Multilayer van der Waals (vdWs) semiconductors have great promising application in high-performance optoelectronic devices. However, the photoconductive photodetectors based on layered semiconductors often suffer from large dark current and high external driven bias voltage. Here, we report a vertical van der Waals heterostructures (vdWHs) consisting of multilayer indium selenide (InSe) and tellurium (Te). The multilayer InSe-Te vdWHs device shows a record high forward rectification ratio greater than 107 at room temperature. Furthermore, an ultrasensitive and broadband photoresponse photodete…
Two dimensional (2D) materials exhibit superior properties in electronic and optoelectronic fields. The wide demand for high performance optoelectronic devices promotes the exploration of diversified 2D materials. Recently, 2D covalent organic frameworks (COFs) have emerged as next-generation layered materials with predesigned pi electronic skeletons and highly ordered topological structures, which are promising for tailoring their optoelectronic properties. However, COFs are usually produced as solid powders due to anisotropic growth, making them unreliable to integrate into devices. Here, by…
Intensive efforts have been devoted to exploit novel optoelectronic devices based on two-dimensional (2D) transition-metal dichalcogenides (TMDCs) owing to their strong light-matter interaction and distinctive material properties. In particular, photodetectors featuring both high-speed and high-responsivity performance are of great interest for a vast number of applications such as high-data-rate interconnects operated at standardized telecom wavelengths. Yet, the intrinsically small carrier mobilities of TMDCs become a bottleneck for high-speed application use. Here, we present high-performan…
Heterostructures of two-dimensional (2D) and three-dimensional (3D) materials form efficient devices for utilizing the properties of both classes of materials. Graphene/silicon (G/Si) Schottky diodes have been studied extensively with respect to their optoelectronic properties. Here, we introduce a method to analyze measured capacitance-voltage data of G/Si Schottky diodes connected in parallel with G/silicon dioxide/Si (GIS) capacitors. We also demonstrate the accurate extraction of the built-in potential ($Φ$$_{bi}$) and the Schottky barrier height from the measurement data independent of th…
