Layer-dependent Band Alignment and Work Function of Few-Layer Phosphorene

By Yongqing Cai, Gang Zhang, Yong‐Wei Zhang. Scientific Reports, 2014

829 citations recorded by the source corpus.

Using first-principles calculations, we study the electronic properties of few-layer phosphorene focusing on layer-dependent behavior of band gap, work function band alignment and carrier effective mass. It is found that few-layer phosphorene shows a robust direct band gap character and its band gap decreases with the number of layers following a power law. The work function decreases rapidly from monolayer (5.16 eV) to trilayer (4.56 eV) and then slowly upon further increasing the layer number. Compared to monolayer phosphorene, there is a drastic decrease of hole effective mass along the ridge (zigzag) direction for bilayer phosphorene, indicating a strong interlayer coupling and screening effect. Our study suggests that 1). Few-layer phosphorene with a layer-dependent band gap and a robust direct band gap character is promising for efficient solar energy harvest. 2). Few-layer phosphorene outperforms monolayer counterpart in terms of a lighter carrier effective mass, a higher carrier density and a weaker scattering due to enhanced screening. 3). The layer-dependent band edges and work functions of few-layer phosphorene allow for modification of Schottky barrier with enhanced carrier injection efficiency. It is expected that few-layer phosphorene will present abundant opportunities for a plethora of new electronic applications.

Subfields: Electrical and Electronic Engineering, Materials Chemistry

View Paper: https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/3eaa74501f65816c8a9152f33beb243ba57ad00e

How researchers see this paper

The researchers whose trusted networks rank it highest, strongest advocate first. Every researcher gets a different order.

In Electrical and Electronic Engineering

1. Gang Zhang
2. Yong‐Wei Zhang
3. Yongqing Cai
4. Z. Ong
5. V. Sorkin
6. Xingzhu Chen
7. Jung‐Ho Yun
8. Xiujian Zhao

In Materials Chemistry

1. Yong‐Wei Zhang
2. Gang Zhang
3. Yongqing Cai
4. Z. Ong
5. V. Sorkin
6. Lianzhou Wang
7. Gang Liu
8. Wee‐Jun Ong

Citations in the corpus

• The rising star of 2D black phosphorus beyond graphene: synthesis, properties and electronic applications (2017, background): “Synthesis of 2D black phosphorus (phosphorene) Since 2014, research on the 2D black phosphorus, which displays tunable band structures with respect to number of layers, high carrier mobility and palpable anisotropy in electronic, optical as well as phonon properties, has been thriving and frenetic [”
• Ultrahigh sensitivity and layer-dependent sensing performance of phosphorene-based gas sensors (2015, neutral): “Here we assume that D q is also linearly proportional to E b and use the extrapolated Fermi energy spacings 31 .”
• Organic–inorganic bismuth (III)-based material: A lead-free, air-stable and solution-processable light-absorber beyond organolead perovskites (2016, methodology): “The alignment of VBM and CBM with respect to the vacuum level for the MBI crystal was theoretically calculated as well based on a method similar to a previous report [22].”
• Electronic Properties of Phosphorene/Graphene and Phosphorene/Hexagonal Boron Nitride Heterostructures (2015, background): “Multilayer BP was predicted to present a better performance than its monolayer counterpart.(34) Besides, few-layer BP flakes passivated by Al2O3were found to be stable in ambient air for two months.”