Investigation of a nanostructured GaP/MoS₂ p-n heterojunction photodiode

We report on the properties of a GaP/MoS2 heterojunction prepared on a nanocone (NC)-structured GaP substrate and a planar GaP substrate. The nanocone-structured GaP substrate was prepared by the growth of GaP NCs at gold seeds on a ⟨111⟩B GaP substrate at 650 °C by metal organic vapor phase epitaxy. At this growth temperature, most NCs exhibited a hexagonal symmetry with six heavily facetted sides that contained numerous facets, ledges, and edges with a large surface area. A thin Mo layer was deposited on both types of GaP substrates by direct current magnetron sputtering. The Mo layer was then sulfurated at 700 °C and turned into a MoS2 layer. Electrical and optical characterization gave evidence that a PN heterojunction formed between GaP and MoS2 during the sulfuration process. The spectral response measurement showed two separate regions between 400 and 550 nm linked with the generation of carriers in GaP and between 550 and 1100 nm associated with the generation of carriers in the MoS2 layer. The planar GaP/MoS2 heterojunction generated a lower photocurrent compared with the GaP/MoS2 heterojunction that formed on the nanocone-structured GaP substrate. The results support theoretical assumptions that edge rich substrates can help to increase the quality of deposited 2D materials.