Gate-controlled reversible rectifying behaviour in tunnel contacted atomically-thin MoS2 transistor

• Published in: Nature communications Vol. 8; no. 1; pp. 1 - 7
• Main Authors: Li, Xiao-Xi, Fan, Zhi-Qiang, Liu, Pei-Zhi, Chen, Mao-Lin, Liu, Xin, Jia, Chuan-Kun, Sun, Dong-Ming, Jiang, Xiang-Wei, Han, Zheng, Bouchiat, Vincent, Guo, Jun-Jie, Chen, Jian-Hao, Zhang, Zhi-Dong
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: London Nature Publishing Group UK 17.10.2017; Nature Publishing Group; Nature Portfolio
• Subjects: 639/301/119/995; 639/925/357/1018; 639/925/927/1007; Boron; Boron nitride; Chemical potential; Heterostructures; Humanities and Social Sciences; Molybdenum disulfide; multidisciplinary; Nanoelectronics; Physics; Science; Science (multidisciplinary); Stacking; Switches; Transistors
• ISSN: 2041-1723; 2041-1723
• DOI: 10.1038/s41467-017-01128-9

Atomically thin two-dimensional semiconducting materials integrated into van der Waals heterostructures have enabled architectures that hold great promise for next generation nanoelectronics. However, challenges still remain to enable their applications as compliant materials for integration in logic devices. Here, we devise a reverted stacking technique to intercalate a wrinkle-free boron nitride tunnel layer between MoS 2 channel and source drain electrodes. Vertical tunnelling of electrons therefore makes it possible to suppress the Schottky barriers and Fermi level pinning, leading to homogeneous gate-control of the channel chemical potential across the bandgap edges. The observed features of ambipolar pn to np diode, which can be reversibly gate tuned, paves the way for future logic applications and high performance switches based on atomically thin semiconducting channel. Van der Waals heterostructures of atomically thin materials hold promise for nanoelectronics. Here, the authors demonstrate a reverted stacking fabrication method for heterostructures and devise a vertical tunnel-contacted MoS 2 transistor, enabling gate tunable rectification and reversible pn to np diode behaviour.