Thin, transparent, and direct gap materials for optoelectronics
The properties of transition metal dichalcogenides and other layered materials create interesting opportunities to fabricate optoelectronic devices. First, several transition metal dichalcogenides and black phosphorous have direct semiconducting band gap in one- to few-layer thicknesses, which leads to efficient light absorption and emission. Second, being atomically thin makes these materials flexible, nearly transparent, and able to efficiently emit and absorb light into and from free space and other 2D or bulk materials.
We plan to investigate conventional optoelectronic devices with unconventional properites made from 2D materials, such as LEDs and photovoltaic devices, as well as new kinds of devices that rely on the two-dimensional character of these materials for their operation.