Efficiently band-tailored type-Ⅲ van der Waals heterostructure for tunnel diodes and optoelectronic devices

Broken-gap(type-Ⅲ)two-dimensional(2D)van der Waals heterostructures(vdWHs)offer an ideal platform for interband tunneling devices due to their broken-gap band offset and sharp band edge.Here,we demonstrate an efficient control of energy band alignment in a typical type-ⅢvdWH,which is composed of vertically-stacked molybdenum telluride(MoTe2)and tin diselenide(SnSe2),via both electrostatic and optical modulation.By a single electrostatic gating with hexagonal boron nitride(hBN)as the dielectric,a variety of electrical transport characteristics including forward rectifying,Zener tunneling,and backward rectifying are realized on the same heterojunction at low gate voltages of±1 V.In particular,the heterostructure can function as an Esaki tunnel diode with a room-temperature negative differential resistance.This great tunability originates from the atomicallyflat and inert surface of h-BN that significantly suppresses the interfacial trap scattering and strain effects.Upon the illumination of an 885 nm laser,the band alignment of heterojunction can be further tuned to facilitate the direct tunneling of photogenerated charge carriers,which leads to a high photocurrent on/off ratio of>105 and a competitive photodetectivity of 1.03×1012 Jones at zero bias.Moreover,the open-circuit voltage of irradiated heterojunction can be switched from positive to negative at opposite gate voltages,revealing a transition from accumulation mode to depletion mode.Our findings not only promise a simple strategy to tailor the bands of type-ⅢvdWHs but also provide an in-depth understanding of interlayer tunneling for future low-power electronic and optoelectronic applications.

Using coupling slabs to tailor surface-acoustic-wave band structures in phononic crystals consisting of pillars attached to elastic substrates

The propagation of surface acoustic waves(SAWs) in two-dimensional phononic crystals(PnCs) with and without coupling-enhancement slabs was theoretically investigated using a three-dimensional finite element method.Different piezoelectric substrates,for example,lithium niobate(LiNbO_3),gallium nitride(GaN),and aluminium nitride(A1N),were taken into account.Compared to the PnCs without coupling-enhancement slabs,the coupling between each pillar and its nearest neighbor was largely enhanced in the presence of slabs.The bandwidth of the first directional band gap increased markedly compared with its initial value for the PnCs without a slab(within square symmetry).In addition,with increasing thicknesses of the slabs bonded between neighboring pillars,the first directional band-gap and second directional band gap of the PnCs tend to merge.Therefore,the structure with coupling-enhancement slabs can be used as an excellent electrical band elimination filter for most electro-SAW devices,offering a new strategy to realize chip-scale applications in electroacoustic signal processing,optoacoustic modulation,and even SAW microfluidic devices.