Black arsenic phosphorus forms extremely thin layers and is said to have potential applications ranging from transistors and sensors to mechanically flexible semiconductors.
New technology developed at TUM allows the synthesis of black arsenic phosphorus without high pressure, an approach requiring less energy and which is cheaper.
The advantage of black arsenic phosphorus is that it is a semiconductor. According to the team, the gap between valence and conduction bands can be controlled precisely by adjusting the arsenic concentration. "This allows us to produce materials with previously unattainable electronic and optical properties in an energy window that was hitherto inaccessible," said TUM Professor Tom Nilges.
With an arsenic concentration of 83%, the material exhibits an extremely small band gap of only 0.15eV, making it suitable for use in sensors which can detect long wavelength infrared radiation, including LiDAR, distance sensors in automobiles and the measurement of dust particles and trace gases.
Meanwhile, cooperation between TUM, the University of Regensburg, the University of Southern California and Yale has produced an FET made of black arsenic phosphorus.
