ABSTRACT
We study mechanically exfoliated nanosheets of franckeite by quantitative optical microscopy. The analysis of transmission-mode and epi-illumination-mode optical microscopy images provides a rapid method to estimate the thickness of the exfoliated flakes at first glance. A quantitative analysis of the optical contrast spectra by means of micro-reflectance allows one to determine the refractive index of franckeite over a broad range of the visible spectrum through a fit of the acquired spectra to a model based on the Fresnel law.
ABSTRACT
Two-dimensional (2D) semiconducting materials are particularly appealing for many applications. Although theory predicts a large number of 2D materials, experimentally only a few of these materials have been identified and characterized comprehensively in the ultrathin limit. Lead iodide, which belongs to the transition metal halides family and has a direct bandgap in the visible spectrum, has been known for a long time and has been well characterized in its bulk form. Nevertheless, studies of this material in the nanometer thickness regime are rather scarce. In this article we demonstrate an easy way to synthesize ultrathin, highly crystalline flakes of PbI2 by precipitation from a solution in water. We thoroughly characterize the produced thin flakes with different techniques ranging from optical and Raman spectroscopy to temperature-dependent photoluminescence and electron microscopy. We compare the results to ab initio calculations of the band structure of the material. Finally, we fabricate photodetectors based on PbI2 and study their optoelectronic properties.
