Photosensor Device Based on Few-Layered WS2 Films

Few‐layered films of WS2, synthesized by chemical vapor deposition on quartz, are successfully used as light sensors. The film samples are structurally characterized by Raman spectroscopy, atomic force microscopy, scanning electron microscopy, and high‐resolution transmission electron microscopy. The produced samples consist of few layered sheets possessing up to 10 layers. UV–visible absorbance spectra reveals absorption peaks at energies of 1.95 and 2.33 eV, consistent with the A and B excitons characteristic of WS2. Current–voltage (I–V) and photoresponse measurements carried out at room temperature are performed by connecting the WS2 layered material with Au/Ti contacts. The photocurrent measurements are carried out using five different laser lines ranging between 457 and 647 nm. The results indicate that the electrical response strongly depends on the photon energy from the excitation lasers. In addition, it is found that the photocurrent varies non‐linearly with the incident power, and the generated photocurrent in the WS2 samples varies as a squared root of the incident power. The excellent response of few‐layered WS2 to detect different photon wavelengths, over a wide range of intensities, makes it a strong candidate for constructing novel optoelectronic devices. A few‐layer WS2 photosensor shows variations in the conduction current by switching a laser on and off. An extensive study reveals that few‐layered WS2 grown by CVD can be used as an efficient light sensor in the visible spectral region for a wide range of incident intensities with a fast response in the order of a few milliseconds (e.g., 5.3 ms).