Enhanced Carrier Density in a MoS2/Si Heterojunction-Based Photodetector by Inverse Auger Process

When exploring the charge transport in the MoS
₂
/Si heterojunction, it is imperative to understand the contribution of different carrier interactions and scattering mechanisms in the conduction process. Here, we have demonstrated an ultrasensitive photodetector based on MoS
₂
/Si (for both p-type and n-type Si) van der Walls (vdW) heterojunction, which provides a high photoresponsivity of greater than 103 A/W along with a large detectivity of ≈ 1012 Jones (Jones = cm · Hz
^1/2
· W
^-1
). This high photoresponsivity is attributed to the high absorption rate of incident photons and large current carrying capacity of a few layer MoS
₂
. The tuning of barrier height at the MoS
₂
/n-Si interface with photoexcitation of different wavelengths was interpreted by using Bardeen's model. The increase in carrier density due to the photon energy results in a reduction of barrier height at the heterojunction. Because of increase in carrier density with wavelength, it was observed that the inverse Auger process prevails at higher wavelength for the relaxation of photoinduced charge carriers at the MoS
₂
/Si interface over other scattering mechanisms. Our obtained results unveil the great potential of the MoS
₂
/Si vdW heterojunction that may pave the way for new generation photodetectors.