Colossal switchable photocurrents in topological Janus transition metal dichalcogenides

Xu, Haowei; Wang, Hua; Zhou, Jian; Guo, Yunfan; Kong, Jing; Li, Ju

doi:10.1038/s41524-021-00499-4

Title: Colossal switchable photocurrents in topological Janus transition metal dichalcogenides

Journal Article · Thu Feb 18 00:00:00 EST 2021 · npj Computational Materials

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1038/s41524-021-00499-4· OSTI ID:1853419

Xu, Haowei; Wang, Hua; Zhou, Jian; Guo, Yunfan; Kong, Jing;

Nonlinear optical properties, such as bulk photovoltaic effects, possess great potential in energy harvesting, photodetection, rectification, etc. To enable efficient light–current conversion, materials with strong photo-responsivity are highly desirable. In this work, we predict that monolayer Janus transition metal dichalcogenides (JTMDs) in the 1T' phase possess colossal nonlinear photoconductivity owing to their topological band mixing, strong inversion symmetry breaking, and small electronic bandgap. 1T'JTMDs have inverted bandgaps on the order of 10 meV and are exceptionally responsive to light in the terahertz (THz) range. By first-principles calculations, we reveal that 1T' JTMDs possess shift current (SC) conductivity as large as 2300 nm μA V^-2, equivalent to a photo-responsivity of 2800 mA/W. The circular current (CC) conductivity of 1T' JTMDs is as large as ~10⁴ nm μA V^-2. These remarkable photo-responsivities indicate that the 1T' JTMDs can serve as efficient photodetectors in the THz range. We also find that external stimuli such as the in-plane strain and out-of-plane electric field can induce topological phase transitions in 1T' JTMDs and that the SC can abruptly flip their directions. The abrupt change of the nonlinear photocurrent can be used to characterize the topological transition and has potential applications in 2D optomechanics and nonlinear optoelectronics.

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Research Organization:: Massachusetts Inst. of Technology (MIT), Cambridge, MA (United States)

Sponsoring Organization:: USDOE Office of Science (SC)

DOE Contract Number:: SC0020042

OSTI ID:: 1853419

Journal Information:: npj Computational Materials, Vol. 7, Issue 1; ISSN 2057-3960

Publisher:: Nature Publishing Group

Country of Publication:: United States

Language:: English

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