Graphene/WGe2N4 van der Waals heterostructure: Controllable Schottky barrier by an electric field

Abstract

The van der Waals (vdW) heterostructures exhibit excellent promise in nanoelectronics and optoelectronics. We present a novel vdW heterostructure made of graphene and a monolayer (ML) of WGe2N4 and use first-principles calculations to investigate how the Schottky barrier height (SBH) is impacted by an external electric field (Eext). Both component layers retain their fundamental electronic characteristics well due to the weak interfacial interaction. The graphene/WGe2N4 heterojunction is sensitive to Eext. The contact becomes an n-type and p-type ohmic contact at Eext = -0.3 V/Å and 0.6 V/Å, respectively. These findings suggest promising applications of the graphene/WGe2N4 vdW heterostructure in nanoelectronics.