Ultrahigh Photosensitivity Based on Single-Step Lay-on Integration of Freestanding Two-Dimensional Transition-Metal Dichalcogenide

Two-dimensional transition-metal dichalcogenides have attracted significant attention because of their unique intrinsic properties, such as high transparency, good flexibility, atomically thin structure, and predictable electron transport. However, the current state of device performance in monolayer transition-metal dichalcogenide-based optoelectronics is far from commercialization, because of its substantial strain on the heterogeneous planar substrate and its robust metal deposition, which causes crystalline damage. In this study, we show that strain-relaxed and undamaged monolayer WSe₂ can improve a device performance significantly. We propose here an original point-cell-type photodetector. The device consists in a monolayer of an absorbing TMD (i.e., WSe₂) simply deposited on a structured electrode, i.e., core–shell silicon–gold nanopillars. The maximum photoresponsivity of the device is found to be 23.16 A/W, which is a significantly high value for monolayer WSe₂-based photodetectors. Such point-cell photodetectors can resolve the critical issues of 2D materials, leading to tremendous improvements in device performance.