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Molybdenite demonstrates performance benefits for LEDs and solar cells

Molybdenite demonstrates performance benefits for LEDs and solar cells

Technology News |
By eeNews Europe



After having used molybdenite to build an electronic chip, a flash memory device and a photographic sensor, EPFL professor Andras Kis and his team in the Laboratory of Nanoscale Electronics and Structures (LANES) is continuing his study of the semiconductor by demonstrating the possibility of creating light-emitting diodes and solar cells.

The research has been published in the journal ACS Nano.

The EPFL scientists built several prototypes of diodes made up of a layer of molybdenite superposed on a layer of silicon. At the interface, each electron emitted by the MoS2 combines with a ‘hole’ – a space left vacant by an electron – in the silicon. The two elements lose their respective energies, which then transforms into photons.

“This light production is caused by the specific properties of molybdenite,” explained Kis. “Other semiconductors would tend to transform this energy into heat.”

By inversing the device, electricity can be produced from light. The principle is the same: when a photon reaches the molybdenite, it ejects an electron, thus creating a ‘hole’ and generating voltage.

“The diode works like a solar cell,” explained Kis. “Our tests showed an efficiency of more than 4%. Molybdenite and silicon are truly working in tandem here. The MoS2 is more efficient in the visible wavelengths of the spectrum, and silicon works more in the infrared range, thus the two working together cover the largest possible spectral range.”

The scientists plan to study the possibility of building electroluminescent diodes and bulbs. The discovery could reduce the dissipation of energy in electronic devices such as microprocessors, by replacing copper wires used for transmitting data with light-emitters.

Related articles and links:

www.epfl.ch

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