Thin-layer black phosphorous/GaAs heterojunction p-n diodes

Owing to its high carrier mobility and thickness-tunable direct band gap, black phosphorous emerges as a promising component of optoelectronic devices. Here, we evaluate the device characteristics of p-n heterojunction diodes wherein thin black phosphorous layers are interfaced with an underlying, highly n-doped GaAs substrate. The p-n heterojunctions exhibit close-to-ideal diode behavior at low bias, while under illumination they display a photoresponse that is evenly distributed over the entire junction area, with an external quantum efficiency of up to 10% at zero bias. Moreover, the observed maximum open circuit voltage of 0.6 V is consistent with the band gap estimated for a black phosphorous sheet with a thickness on the order of 10 nm. Further analysis reveals that the device performance is limited by the structural quality of the black phosphorous surface. (C) 2015 AIP Publishing LLC.