Electrical Transport of Nb‐Doped MoS <sub>2</sub> Homojunction P–N Diode: Investigating NDR and Avalanche Effect

2D transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDCs) are promising candidates for next-generation nanoelectronics and optoelectronics. Yet, controlling layer number, stacking angle, and interfacial quality in van der Waals (vdW) heterostructures remains challenging, often limiting device performance and reproducibility. Homojunctions formed within a single 2D material can circumvent these issues, but their reliable fabrication and systematic exploration of exotic quantum phenomena remain elusive. Here, we report the fabrication and characterization of a thickness-modulated lateral p-n homojunction from a single flake of Nb-doped MoS<sub>2</sub>. This configuration suppresses interface traps without external interface engineering, enabling excellent and highly stable device performance. The diodes exhibit strong rectifying behavior with a rectification ratio of ≈10⁴ and a remarkably low ideality factor (η = 1.23). Notably, we observe field-dependent negative differential resistance (NDR) at low temperatures, offering unique prospects for unconventional electronic applications. The devices also achieve high photoresponsivity (1.09 × 10<sup>3</sup> A W<sup>-1</sup>), external quantum efficiency (2.16 × 10⁵%), and detectivity (7.5 × 10<sup>10</sup> Jones). Furthermore, electrical breakdown studies reveal avalanche multiplication at relatively low voltages, enabling high-performance avalanche photodetectors. Overall, our results demonstrate a simple yet robust approach for probing carrier multiplication in 2D homojunction p-n diodes, underlining the broad potential of TMDCs in advanced optoelectronic and quantum device applications.

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Small
Published
2025-12-24
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1002/smll.202509043
Primary Topic
2D Materials and Applications
Type
article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
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Electrical Transport of Nb‐Doped MoS 2 Homojunction P–N Diode: Investigating NDR and Avalanche Effect

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Electrical Transport of Nb‐Doped MoS 2 Homojunction P–N Diode: Investigating NDR and Avalanche Effect

Goki Eda, Kalyan Jyoti Sarkar, Jamal Aziz, Zdeněk Sofer, Umer Ahsan, Martin Loula, Paweł Piotr Michałowski, Muhammad Farooq Khan, Ehsan Elahi, Yuan Chen
article en

Abstract

2D transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDCs) are promising candidates for next-generation nanoelectronics and optoelectronics. Yet, controlling layer number, stacking angle, and interfacial quality in van der Waals (vdW) heterostructures remains challenging, often limiting device performance and reproducibility. Homojunctions formed within a single 2D material can circumvent these issues, but their reliable fabrication and systematic exploration of exotic quantum phenomena remain elusive. Here, we report the fabrication and characterization of a thickness-modulated lateral p-n homojunction from a single flake of Nb-doped MoS<sub>2</sub>. This configuration suppresses interface traps without external interface engineering, enabling excellent and highly stable device performance. The diodes exhibit strong rectifying behavior with a rectification ratio of ≈10⁴ and a remarkably low ideality factor (η = 1.23). Notably, we observe field-dependent negative differential resistance (NDR) at low temperatures, offering unique prospects for unconventional electronic applications. The devices also achieve high photoresponsivity (1.09 × 10<sup>3</sup> A W<sup>-1</sup>), external quantum efficiency (2.16 × 10⁵%), and detectivity (7.5 × 10<sup>10</sup> Jones). Furthermore, electrical breakdown studies reveal avalanche multiplication at relatively low voltages, enabling high-performance avalanche photodetectors. Overall, our results demonstrate a simple yet robust approach for probing carrier multiplication in 2D homojunction p-n diodes, underlining the broad potential of TMDCs in advanced optoelectronic and quantum device applications.

SmallVol. 22(9)
National University of Singapore (SG), University of Wuppertal (DE), Sejong University (KR), Łukasiewicz Research Network (PL), Czech Academy of Sciences, Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry (CZ), University of Chemistry and Technology, Prague (CZ)
European Commission, Ministerstvo Školství, Mládeže a Tělovýchovy, Ministry of Education, India, HORIZON EUROPE Framework Programme, Narodowe Centrum Badań i Rozwoju
Openalex Percentile: Top 48%
2D Materials and Applications
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