MoS₂ Based Photodetectors: A Review

Photodetectors based on transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDs) have been widely reported in the literature and molybdenum disulfide (MoS₂) has been the most extensively explored for photodetection applications. The properties of MoS₂, such as direct band gap transition in low dimensional structures, strong light-matter interaction and good carrier mobility, combined with the possibility of fabricating thin MoS₂ films, have attracted interest for this material in the field of optoelectronics. In this work, MoS2-based photodetectors are reviewed in terms of their main performance metrics, namely responsivity, detectivity, response time and dark current. Although neat MoS2-based detectors already show remarkable characteristics in the visible spectral range, MoS₂ can be advantageously coupled with other materials to further improve the detector performance Nanoparticles (NPs) and quantum dots (QDs) have been exploited in combination with MoS₂ to boost the response of the devices in the near ultraviolet (NUV) and infrared (IR) spectral range. Moreover, heterostructures with different materials (e.g., other TMDs, Graphene) can speed up the response of the photodetectors through the creation of built-in electric fields and the faster transport of charge carriers. Finally, in order to enhance the stability of the devices, perovskites have been exploited both as passivation layers and as electron reservoirs.