MoS$_2$-on-paper optoelectronics: drawing photodetectors with van der Waals semiconductors beyond graphite

TL;DR

This paper presents a simple, low-cost method to create MoS2-based photodetectors on paper using rubbing, enabling broadband UV to NIR detection and imaging with minimal fabrication steps.

Contribution

The study introduces a novel, facile technique for fabricating 2D material-based photodetectors on paper, expanding applications of van der Waals semiconductors beyond traditional substrates.

Findings

Fabrication of MoS2-on-paper photodetectors with broad spectral sensitivity.

Successful imaging using paper-based photodetectors in a single-pixel camera setup.

Demonstration of a simple, scalable method for 2D material device integration on paper.

Abstract

We fabricate paper-supported semiconducting devices by rubbing a layered molybdenum disulfide (MoS2) crystal onto a piece of paper, similarly to the action of drawing/writing with a pencil on paper. We show that the abrasion between the MoS2 crystal and the paper substrate efficiently exfoliates the crystals, breaking the weak van der Waals interlayer bonds and leading to the deposition of a film of interconnected MoS2 platelets. Employing this simple method, that can be easily extended to other 2D materials, we fabricate MoS2-on-paper broadband photodectectors with spectral sensitivity from the ultraviolet (UV) to the near-infrared (NIR). We also used these paper-based photodetectors to acquire pictures of objects by mounting the photodetectors in a homebuilt single-pixel camera setup.