2D Xenes: Optical and Optoelectronic Properties and Applications in Photonic Devices

In recent years, tremendous attention has been paid to the investigation of single-element 2D materials. These 2D materials mainly consist of elements from group IV and group V such as silicene, phosphorene, and antimonene. Together with other four elements from groups III and VI, they are classified as 2D Xenes and exhibit rich optical and optoelectronic properties such as broadband optical response, strong nonlinearity, ultrafast recovery time, and layer-dependent bandgap. 2D Xenes can be easily integrated with microfibers and other optical platforms. On the basis of their attracting characteristics, 2D Xenes have been utilized in various functional devices. In this review, the optical and optoelectronic properties of the most intensively studied 2D Xenes are introduced. Their applications in photonic devices including all-optical modulators, wavelength converters, ultrafast lasers, and photodetectors are explicitly explored. Finally, the challenges and future perspectives of photonic devices based on 2D Xenes are discussed.