Black Phosphorus Optoelectronic Devices

Black phosphorus recently emerged as a promising two-dimensional material due to its widely tunable and direct bandgap, high carrier mobility and remarkable in-plane anisotropic electrical, optical and phonon properties. It serendipitously bridges the zero-gap graphene and the relatively large-bandgap transition metal dichalcogenides such as molybdenum disulfide (MoS2). In this brief review manuscript, we will first cover the basic properties of few-layer and thin-film black phosphorus. Then we will present a few potential applications of black phosphorus such as radiofrequency transistors and wideband photodetectors. Finally we will discuss the recent observation of efficient bandgap tuning in black phosphorus thin films in a dual-gate transistor, and conclude with the discussion of synthesis of large area and high quality black phosphorus thin films.