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Broadband, self-power, and polarization-sensitivity are desirable qualities for a photodetector. However, currently few photodetectors can fulfill these requirements simultaneously. Here, we propose a Ti3C2Tx (MXene) photodetector that is driven by the photogalvanic effect with impressive performances. A polarization-sensitive photocurrent is generated at zero bias under the illumination of linearly polarized laser light of 1064 nm, with an extinction ratio of 1.11. Meanwhile, a fast response with a 32/28 ms rise/decay time and a large on/off switching ratio of 120 are achieved. Besides, a robust zero-bias photocurrent is also generated in the photodetector under the illumination of 940 and 620 nm light, as well as the white light, showing a broadband photoresponse from the near-infrared to visible. Moreover, quantum transport simulations indicate that the photogalvanic effect plays an important role in the generation of the polarized photocurrent at zero bias due to the broken space inversion symmetry of the stacked few-layer Ti3C2Tx. Our results shed light on a potential application of the Ti3C2Tx—MXene in the low-power photodetection with high performances. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The photogalvanic effect (PGE) occurring in noncentrosymmetric materials enables the generation of a dc photocurrent at zero bias with a high polarization sensitivity, which makes it very attractive in photodetection. However, the magnitude of the PGE photocurrent is usually small, leading to a low photoresponsivity, and therefore hampers its practical application in photodetection. Here, we propose an approach to largely enhancing the PGE photocurrent by applying an inhomogenous mechanical stretch, based on quantum transport simulations. We model a two-dimensional photodetector consisting of the wide-bandgap MgCl2/ZnBr2 vertical van der Waals heterojunction with the noncentrosymmetric C3v symmetry. Polarization-sensitive PGE photocurrent is generated under the vertical illumination of linearly polarized light. By applying inhomogenous mechanical stretch on the lattice, the photocurrent can be largely increased by up to 3 orders of magnitude due to the significantly increased device asymmetry. Our results propose an effective way to enhance the PGE by inhomogenous mechanical strain, showing the potential of the MgCl2/ZnBr2 vertical heterojunction in the low-power UV photodetection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]