Tunable WSe₂–MoSe₂ Lateral Heterojunction Photodetector Based on Piezoelectric and Flexoelectric Effects

Abstract

Two-dimensional transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDs) with piezoelectric effects are ideal materials for future wearable devices. While enhancing the piezoelectric performance by forming vertical heterojunctions, shortcomings such as contamination at the heterojunction interface and limited built-in electric field width have been noticed. In this work, a lateral heterojunction of monolayer WSe₂-MoSe₂ with type-II band alignment was employed to amplify the electromechanical optoelectronic efficiency. The considerable built-in field width (BFW) in the lateral heterojunction facilitates rapid separation of carriers. The lattice mismatch induced a flexoelectric effect during the lateral heterojunction growth. The flexoelectric and piezoelectric effects under external strain can regulate the photodetector performance of the device. Under the compressive strain of -0.93%, the photocurrent increased 9.1 times compared to the tensile strain of 0.47%. Flexoelectric effect can reduce the dark current under no external strain. This work reveals the roles of flexoelectric and piezoelectric effects in enhancing photoelectric conversion, suggesting lateral heterojunction devices may be applied in the field of flexible low-light detection.