Delaminated MnPS₃ with Multiple Layers Coupled with Si Featuring Ultrahigh Detectivity and Environmental Stability for UV Photodetection

Silicon (Si), the dominant semiconductor in microelectronics yet lacking optoelectronic functionalities in UV regions, has been researched extensively to make revolutionary changes. In this study, the inherent drawback of Si on optoelectronic functionalities in UV regions is potentially overcome through heterostructure coupling of delaminated p-type MnPS₃, having bulk, multiple-layer, and few-layer features, with n-type Si. By artificially mimicking the architectures of shrubs with unique UV shading phenomena, the revolutionary multiple-layer MnPS₃ structures with staggered stacking configurations trigger outstanding UV photosensing performances, displaying an average EQE value of 1.1 × 10³%, average photoresponsivity of 3.1 × 10² A/W, average detectivity of 1.9 × 10¹⁴ cm Hz¹/2W¹⁻, and average on/off ratio of 1.8 × 10³ under 365 nm light. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first attempt toward realizing gate-free MnPS₃based UV photodetectors, while all of the photodetection outcomes are better than those of more sophisticated field-effect transistor (FET) designs, which have remarkable impacts on the practicality and functionality of next-generation UV optoelectronics.