Printable Transfer-Free and Wafer-Size MoS₂/Graphene van der Waals Heterostructures for High-Performance Photodetection

Two-dimensional (2D) MoS₂/graphene van der Waals heterostructures integrate the superior light-solid interaction in MoS₂ and charge mobility in graphene for high-performance optoelectronic devices. Key to the device performance lies in a clean MoS₂/graphene interface to facilitate efficient transfer of photogenerated charges. Here, we report a printable and transfer-free process for fabrication of wafer-size MoS₂/graphene van der Waals heterostructures obtained using a metal-free-grown graphene, followed by low-temperature growth of MoS₂ from the printed thin film of ammonium thiomolybdate on graphene. The photodetectors based on the transfer-free MoS₂/graphene heterostructures exhibit extraordinary short photoresponse rise/decay times of 20/30 ms, which are significantly faster than those of the previously reported MoS₂/transferred-graphene photodetectors (0.28-1.5 s). In addition, a high photoresponsivity of up to 835 mA/W was observed in the visible spectrum on such transfer-free MoS₂/graphene heterostructures, which is much higher than that of the reported photodetectors based on the exfoliated layered MoS₂ (0.42 mA/W), the graphene (6.1 mA/W), and transfer-free MoS₂/graphene/SiC heterostructures (∼40 mA/W). The enhanced performance is attributed to the clean interface on the transfer-free MoS₂/graphene heterostructures. This printable and transfer-free process paves the way for large-scale commercial applications of the emerging 2D heterostructures in optoelectronics and sensors.