Microwave Detection Using 2-Atom-Thick Heterojunction Diodes

In this paper, a two-dimensional material-based diode for microwave detection at 2.49 GHz with photo detector capabilities is presented. The diode consists of a molybdenum disulphide monolayer/graphene monolayer heterojunction transferred onto a silicon/silicon dioxide substrate, and patterned by means of nanolithography techniques to obtain a geometrical self-switching diode. The interaction between the two monolayers gives rise to a double-stage device, which behaves as a back-to-back diode in the [-3, +3] V range, and as a tunnel diode when exceeding +10 V. The heterojunction can be reproduced on large scale due to its CMOS compatibility; it does not need any particular doping process thanks to its geometrical nature and can be used efficiently as microwave detector up to 10 GHz, with the best performance around the ISM 2.45 GHz band. Last, a rigorous equivalent circuit model based on the Foster's method is provided, which relies on the measured scattering parameters at high frequencies. This way, the device can be exploited in circuit-based numerical tools for the desian of complex microwave front-ends.