Channel Material For Field-effect Transistors Research Articles

A Single-Crystal Antimony Trioxide Dielectric for 2D Field-Effect Transistors.

The remarkable potential of two-dimensional (2D) materials in sustaining Moore's law has sparked a research frenzy. Extensive efforts have been made in the research of utilizing 2D semiconductors as channel materials in field-effect transistors. However, the next generation of integrated devices requires the integration of gate dielectrics with wider bandgaps and higher dielectric constants. Here, insulating α-Sb2O3 single-crystal nanosheets are synthesized by one-step chemical vapor deposition method. Importantly, the α-Sb2O3 single-crystal dielectric exhibits a high dielectric constant of 11.8 and a wide bandgap of 3.78 eV. Besides, the atomically smooth interface between α-Sb2O3 and MoS2 enables the fabrication of dual-gated field-effect transistors with the top gate dielectric of α-Sb2O3 nanosheets. The field-effect transistors exhibit a switching ratio of exceeding 108, which achieves the manipulation of field-effect transistors by using 2D dielectric materials. These results hold significant implications for optimizing the performances of 2D devices and innovating microelectronics.

Simultaneous engineering of the conductivity and work function of biphenylene via fluorine adsorption

Biphenylene (BP) is a new member of the two-dimensional C nanomaterial family, and successful fabrication of BP offers an excellent opportunity for developing innovative C-based electronics. However, its unusual metallicity critically restricts its applications in field-effect transistors (FETs) and photocatalysis. Simultaneously, its relatively low work function (ϕ, 4.33 eV) seriously restricts its applications in anode materials of electronic devices. Therefore, understanding the tunabilities of electronic properties and ϕ of BP-based nanomaterials is crucial to guide experimental exploration; nevertheless, to date, little attention has been paid to this area. Herein, we theoretically demonstrate that conductivity of fluorinated BP (Fn-BP) evolves in the order metallic → semimetallic → semiconductivity with increasing F concentration, attributed to a bonding transition of BP (sp2 → sp2 + sp3 → sp3). Particularly, ϕ of BP can be significantly improved (4.82–6.97 eV) by fluorination, approximately two-fold higher than that of Fn-graphene owing to p electron transfer between F and BP. Consequently, metallic F2D-BP and semimetallic F4S-BP with favorable ϕs can be utilized as substitutes for Au and Pt anodes, respectively. Specifically, F8D-BP, F16D-BP, and F24D-BP with exceptional band gaps of 0.40, 2.80, and 3.44 eV, respectively, exhibit high potentials for making channel materials in FETs, candidate materials in photocatalysis, and buffer layers in solar cells, respectively.

Design of ohmic contacts between Janus MoSSe and two-dimensional metals

Two-dimensional semiconductors are considered as channel materials for field-effect transistors to overcome short-channel effects and reduce the device size. As the contacts to the metallic electrodes are decisive for the device performance, we study the electronic properties of contacts between Janus MoSSe and various two-dimensional metals. We demonstrate that weak interactions at these van der Waals contacts suppress Fermi level pinning and show that ohmic contacts can be formed for both terminations of Janus MoSSe, generating favorable transport characteristics.

Bottom Contact 100nm Channel-Length α-In2 Se3 In-Plane Ferroelectric Memory.

Owing to the emerging trend of non-volatile memory and data-centric computing, the demand for more functional materials and efficient device architecture at the nanoscale is becoming stringent. To date, 2D ferroelectrics are cultivated as channel materials in field-effect transistors for their retentive and switchable dipoles and flexibility to be compacted into diverse structures and integration for intensive production. This study demonstrates the in-plane (IP) ferroelectric memory effect of a 100nm channel-length 2D ferroelectric semiconductor α-In2 Se3 stamped onto nanogap electrodes on Si/SiO2 under a lateral electric field. As α-In2 Se3 forms the bottom contact of the nanogap electrodes, a large memory window of 13V at drain voltage between ±6.5V and the on/off ratio reaching 103 can be explained by controlled IP polarization. Furthermore, the memory effect is modulated by the bottom gate voltage of the Si substrate due to the intercorrelation between IP and out-of-plane (OOP) polarization. The non-volatile memory characteristics including stable retention lasting 17 h, and endurance over 1200 cycles suggest a wide range of memory applications utilizing the lateral bottom contact structure.

Inkjet-Printed MoS2 Nanoplates on Flexible Substrates for High-Performance Field Effect Transistors and Gas Sensing Applications

Owing to the simplicity, scalability, and cost-efficiency, solution-processable two-dimensional (2D) semiconductors have attracted great interest in electronic applications, especially as the channel material for field-effect transistors (FETs). Inkjet printing is a lithography-free technique to achieve drop-on-demand patterning of solution-processable 2D ink. However, thus far, inkjet-printed 2D FETs exhibit limited performance due to the coffee-ring effect and consequent discontinuity of the printed 2D material films. Here, we report high-performance and flexible inkjet-printed MoS2 FETs with high mobilities and high on/off ratios and their gas sensing applications. By preparing high-quality MoS2 ink comprised of MoS2 nanoplates using electrochemical exfoliation and then applying a binary solvent comprised of 2-butanol and isopropanol, the obtained ink was printed to form a continuous and relatively uniform MoS2 film, and high-performance printed MoS2 FETs were demonstrated, with mobilities of 11 cm2 V–1 s–1 and on/off ratios of 106. Furthermore, low-voltage gate modulation was achieved by applying an ion gel gate, and robust electrical performance under tensile strain was observed for the ion gel-gated MoS2 FETs printed on flexible substrates. As the printed MoS2 film is abundant in edge sites and sulfur vacancies, we further demonstrated our MoS2 FETs as high-performance gas sensors with a limit of detection of 10 ppb for NO2 and 0.5 ppm for NH3, together with a fast recovery rate.

A Thrifty Liquid-Phase Exfoliation (LPE) of MoSe2 and WSe2 Nanosheets as Channel Materials for FET Application.

Two-dimensional materials are trending nowadays because of their atomic thickness, layer-dependent properties, and their fascinating application in the semiconducting industry. In this work, we have synthesized MoSe2 and WSe2 nanosheets (NSs) via a liquid-phase exfoliation method and investigated these NSs as channel materials in field-effect transistors (FET). The x-ray diffraction (XRD) pattern revealed that the synthesized NSs have a 2H phase with 0.65 nm d-spacing which belongs to the (002) Miller plane. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) studies revealed that MoSe2 and WSe2 have a nanosheet-like structure, and the average lateral dimensions of these NSs are ~ 25 nm and ~ 63 nm, respectively. From Raman spectra, we found that the intensity of the A1g vibrational mode decreases with the reduction in the number of layers. UV-visible spectroscopy revealed that the bandgap values of MoSe2 and WSe2 NSs are 1.55 eV and 1.50 eV, respectively, calculated using the Tauc equation. The output and transfer characteristics of the FET devices reveals that the fabricated FETs have good ohmic contact with the channel material and an ON/OFF current ratio of about 102 for both devices. This approach for the fabrication of FET devices can be achieved even without sophisticated fabrication facilities, and they can be applied as gas sensors and phototransistors, among other applications.

Sub-9 nm high-performance and low-power transistors based on an in-plane NbSe2/MoSe2/NbSe2 heterojunction.

Due to the ability to reduce the gate length of field-effect transistors (FETs) down to sub-10 nm without obviously affecting the performance of the device, the utilization of two-dimensional (2D) semiconductor materials as channel materials for FETs is of great interest. However, in-plane 2D/2D heterojunction FETs have received less attention in previous studies than vertical van der Waals heterojunction devices. Based on the above reasons, this study has investigated the transport properties of an in-plane NbSe2/MoSe2/NbSe2 heterojunction FET with different gate lengths by using ab initio quantum transport simulation. The results reveal that a gate length of sub-9 nm gives the device a low subthreshold swing down to 62 mV dec-1 and a high on-state current up to 1040 μA μm-1. Most importantly, the on-state current, delay time, and power dissipation of the FET with the optimized channel length can nearly meet or even exceed the high-performance and low-power requirements of the International Technology Roadmap for Semiconductors. The findings for this FET can provide the design and development guidance for other in-plane heterojunction electrical devices in the post-Moore era.

Controlled Preparation of Single-Walled Carbon Nanotubes as Materials for Electronics.

Single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) are of particular interest as channel materials for field-effect transistors due to their unique structure and excellent properties. The controlled preparation of SWCNTs that meet the requirement of semiconducting and chiral purity, high density, and good alignment for high-performance electronics has become a key challenge in this field. In this Outlook, we outline the efforts in the preparation of SWCNTs for electronics from three main aspects, structure-controlled growth, selective sorting, and solution assembly, and discuss the remaining challenges and opportunities. We expect that this Outlook can provide some ideas for addressing the existing challenges and inspire the development of SWCNT-based high-performance electronics.

Natural p-n Junctions at the MoS2 Flake Edges.

Two-dimensional (2D) semiconductors are holding promises as channel materials for field-effect transistors. Compared to traditional three-dimensional (3D) semiconductors whose electronic and optical properties are hindered by dangling bonds and trap states at the surfaces, 2D materials with saturated chemical bonds on the surface maintain the excellent properties even when device thickness scales down to monolayer. However, dangling bonds are unavoidable at their edges, which are often overlooked and should have important effects on the devices. Here, we show that the edges of as-exfoliated and etched MoS2 are naturally p-type doped and can form p-n junctions with the bulk of the flake. The width of these edge regions is around 20 nm. While their existence could present challenges for the shrinkage of devices, they can be exploited to form rectifying or optoelectronic devices based on a single flake of MoS2 without the need of an elaborate extrinsic doping process.

Thickness-Dependent Structural and Electrical Properties of WS2 Nanosheets Obtained via the ALD-Grown WO3 Sulfurization Technique as a Channel Material for Field-Effect Transistors.

Ultrathin WS2 films are promising functional materials for electronic and optoelectronic devices. Therefore, their synthesis over a large area, allowing control over their thickness and structure, is an essential task. In this work, we investigated the influence of atomic layer deposition (ALD)-grown WO3 seed-film thickness on the structural and electrical properties of WS2 nanosheets obtained via a sulfurization technique. Transmission electron microscopy indicated that the thinnest (1.9 nm) film contains rather big (up to 50 nm) WS2 grains in the amorphous matrix. The signs of incomplete sulfurization, namely, oxysulfide phase presence, were found by X-ray photoemission spectroscopy analysis. The increase in the seed-film thickness of up to 4.7 nm resulted in a visible grain size decrease down to 15–20 nm, which was accompanied by defect suppression. The observed structural evolution affected the film resistivity, which was found to decrease from ∼106 to 103 (μΩ·cm) within the investigated thickness range. These results show that the thickness of the ALD-grown seed layer may strongly affect the resultant WS2 structure and properties. Most valuably, it was shown that the growth of the thinnest WS2 film (3–4 monolayers) is most challenging due to the amorphous intergrain phase formation, and further investigations focused on preventing the intergrain phase formation should be conducted.

Quantum transport simulation of the two-dimensional GaSb transistors

Owing to the high carrier mobility, two-dimensional (2D) gallium antimonite (GaSb) is a promising channel material for field-effect transistors (FETs) in the post-silicon era. We investigated the ballistic performance of the 2D GaSb metal–oxide–semiconductor FETs with a 10 nm-gate-length by the ab initio quantum transport simulation. Because of the wider bandgap and better gate-control ability, the performance of the 10-nm monolayer (ML) GaSb FETs is generally superior to the bilayer counterparts, including the three-to-four orders of magnitude larger on-current. Via hydrogenation, the delay-time and power consumption can be further enhanced with magnitude up to 35% and 57%, respectively, thanks to the expanded bandgap. The 10-nm ML GaSb FETs can almost meet the International Technology Roadmap for Semiconductors (ITRS) for high-performance demands in terms of the on-state current, intrinsic delay time, and power-delay product.

Vapor-Phase Passivation of Chlorine-Terminated Ge(100) Using Self-Assembled Monolayers of Hexanethiol.

Continued scaling of electronic devices shows the need to incorporate high mobility alternatives to silicon, the cornerstone of the semiconductor industry, into modern field effect transistor (FET) devices. Germanium is well-poised to serve as the channel material in FET devices as it boasts an electron and hole mobility more than twice and four times that of Si, respectively. However, its unstable native oxide makes its passivation a crucial step toward its potential integration into future FETs. The International Roadmap for Devices and Systems (IRDS) predicts continued aggressive scaling not only of the device size but also of the pitch in nanowire arrays. The development of a vapor-phase chemical passivation technique will be required to prevent the collapse of these structures that can occur because of the surface tension and capillary forces that are experienced when tight-pitched nanowire arrays are processed via liquid-phase chemistry. Reported here is a vapor-phase process using hexanethiol for the passivation of planar Ge(100) substrates. Results benchmarking it against its well-established liquid-phase equivalent are also presented. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy was used to monitor the effectiveness of the developed vapor-phase protocol, where the presence of oxide was monitored at 0, 24, and 168 h. Water contact angle measurements compliment these results by demonstrating an increase in hydrophobicity of the passivated substrates. Atomic force microscopy monitored the surface topology before and after processing to ensure the process does not cause roughening of the surface, which is critical to demonstrate suitability for nanostructures. It is shown that the 200 min vapor-phase passivation procedure generates stable, passivated surfaces with less roughness than the liquid-phase counterpart.

Suppressed threshold voltage roll-off and ambipolar transport in multilayer transition metal dichalcogenide feed-back gate transistors

The layered semiconducting transition metal dichalcogenides (s-TMDs) have attracted considerable interest as the channel material for field-effect transistors (FETs). However, the multilayer s-TMD transistors usually exhibit considerable threshold voltage (Vth) shift and ambipolar behavior at high source-drain bias, which is undesirable for modern digital electronics. Here we report the design and fabrication of double feedback gate (FBG) transistors, i.e., source FBG (S-FBG) and drain FBG (D-FBG), to combat these challenges. The FBG transistors differ from normal transistors by including an extra feedback gate, which is directly connected to the source/drain electrodes by extending and overlapping the source/drain electrodes over the yttrium oxide dielectrics on s-TMDs. We show that the S-FBG transistors based on multilayer MoS2 exhibit nearly negligible Vth roll-off at large source-drain bias, and the D-FBG multilayer WSe2 transistors could be tailored into either n-type or p-type transport, depending on the polarity of the drain bias. The double FBG structure offers an effective strategy to tailor multilayer s-TMD transistors with suppressed Vth roll-off and ambipolar transport for high-performance and low-power logic applications.

Length-Dependent Electron Transport Properties of Defective Silicene Nanoribbons

Electronic and transport properties of realistic silicene nanoribbons (SiNRs) with edge defects are investigated in detail by using statistical atomistic quantum transport simulations based on the non-equilibrium Green's function (NEGF) formalism. We investigate the influence of SiNR width, length, and edge defect density on several parameters relevant for nanoscale device applications, including transport gap, conductance and intrinsic switching capability, mean free path and localization length. Most importantly, we find that a2 nm-wide defective SiNRs with lengths in the 13 nm to 28 nm range are a promising channel material for field-effect transistors at this scale, additionally avoiding the localization transport regime and achieving a variability of 12% to 20% even in the worst case.

Highly in-plane anisotropic 2D semiconductors β-AuSe with multiple superior properties: a first-principles investigation

Discovering highly in-plane anisotropic two-dimensional (2D) semiconductors with multiple superior properties (good stability, widely tunable bandgap and high mobility) are of great interest for fundamental studies and for developments of novel (opto)electronic devices. By means of state-of-the-art first-principles calculations, herein we present a thorough investigation on the stability, electronic properties and promising applications of previously unexplored 2D semiconductors—gold-selenium (β-AuSe) with strong in-plane anisotropy, whose layered bulk counterpart was synthesized fifty years ago. We show that they have stable structures, widely tunable bandgap varying from 1.66 eV in monolayer to 0.70 eV in five-layer, strong light absorption coefficient (~105 cm−1) within the whole visible light range, and high/ultrahigh carrier mobility (103–105 cm2 V−1 s−1). More importantly, they show highly in-pane anisotropic behaviors in absorption coefficients, photoconductance and carrier mobility. Especially, the anisotropic ratio of carrier mobility is much higher than the literature reported ones. The above findings show that the in-plane anisotropic 2D β-AuSe are promising candidates for developing polarization-sensitive photodetectors, synaptic devices and micro digital inverters based on multiple superior properties and highly anisotropic behaviors. Besides, few-layer β-AuSe systems can serve as channel materials in field-effect transistors with high mobility or be applied in solar cells with strong light absorption. Our findings demonstrate that few-layer 2D β-AuSe have great potential for multifunctional applications and thus stimulate immediately experimental interests.

Review Article: Atomic layer deposition of optoelectronic materials

Optoelectronic materials can source, detect, and control light wavelengths ranging from gamma and x rays to ultraviolet, visible, and infrared regions. Optoelectronic devices are usually systems that transduce electricity to optical signal or vice versa. Optoelectronic devices include many modern necessities such as lamps, displays, lasers, solar cells, and various photodetectors. Some important research topics in the field of optoelectronics materials are development of new materials, new technologies for fabricating materials, and design of device structures. Atomic layer deposition (ALD) is a technology that was developed in the early 1970s for manufacturing high-quality luminescent and dielectric films to be used in AC-driven thin film electroluminescent (TFEL) displays. Monochromic yellow-black displays based on a ZnS:Mn luminescent layer have been manufactured industrially using ALD since the mid-1980s. Multicolor displays (green-yellow-red) were successfully realized by filtering the broad emission band of ZnS:Mn or adding another luminescent material, e.g., green-emitting ZnS:Tb or SrS:Ce. However, applicable full-color AC TFEL devices could not be developed because of the lack of an efficient deep blue-emitting phosphor. Currently, the most promising application area in TFEL displays is transparent displays, which are commonly used in various vehicles. In the mid-1980s, epitaxial III-V semiconductors were studied using ALD. It was shown that manufacturing real epitaxial [atomic layer epitaxy (ALE)] films is possible for different III (Al, Ga, In) and V (N, P, As) materials. The advantages of ALE processing compared to more traditional metalorganic chemical vapor deposition or molecular beam epitaxy methods have remained low, however, and ALE is not used on a large scale. Research continues to be carried out using ALE, especially with nitride films. Thin film solar cells have continuously received attention in ALD research. ALD films may be used as both an absorber (CdTe, SnS) and a passivation [In2S3, Zn(O,S)] material. However, in the solar cell field, the real industrial-level use is in passivation of silicon cells. Thin ALD Al2O3 film effectively passivates all types of silicon cells and improves their efficiency. Transition metal dichalcogenides are emerging 2D materials that have potential uses as channel materials in field-effect transistors, as well as phototransistors and other optoelectronic devices. The problem with achieving large-scale use of these 2D materials is the lack of a scalable, low-temperature process for fabricating high-quality, large-area films. ALD is proposed as a solution for these limitations. This review covers all of these ALD applications in detail.

Thick Layered Semiconductor Devices with Water Top-Gates: High On–Off Ratio Field-Effect Transistors and Aqueous Sensors

Layered semiconductors show promise as channel materials for field-effect transistors (FETs). Usually, such devices incorporate solid back or top gate dielectrics. Here, we explore deionized (DI) water as a solution top-gate for field-effect switching of layered semiconductors including SnS2, MoS2, and black phosphorus. The DI water gate is easily fabricated, can sustain rapid bias changes, and its efficient coupling to layered materials provides high on-off current ratios, near-ideal subthreshold swing, and enhanced short-channel behavior even for FETs with thick, bulk-like channels, where such control is difficult to realize with conventional back gating. Screening by the high-k solution gate eliminates hysteresis due to surface and interface trap states and substantially enhances the field-effect mobility. The onset of water electrolysis sets the ultimate limit to DI water gating at large negative gate bias. Measurements in this regime show promise for aqueous sensing, demonstrated here by the amperometric detection of glucose in aqueous solution. DI water gating of layered semiconductors can be harnessed in research on novel materials and devices, and it may with further development find broad applications in microelectronics and sensing.

Multifunctional Binary Monolayers Ge xP y: Tunable Band Gap, Ferromagnetism, and Photocatalyst for Water Splitting.

The most stable structures of two-dimensional Ge xP y and Ge xAs y monolayers with different stoichiometries (e.g., GeP, GeP2, and GeP3) are explored systematically through the combination of the particle-swarm optimization technique and density functional theory optimization. For GeP3, we show that the newly predicted most stable C2/ m structure is 0.16 eV/atom lower in energy than the state-of-the-art P3̅m1 structure reported previously ( Nano Lett. 2017, 17, 1833). The computed electronic band structures suggest that all the stable and metastable monolayers of Ge xP y are semiconductors with highly tunable band gaps under the biaxial strain, allowing strain engineering of their band gaps within nearly the whole visible-light range. More interestingly, the hole doping can convert the C2/ m GeP3 monolayer from nonmagnetic to ferromagnetic because of its unique valence band structure. For the GeP2 monolayer, the predicted most stable Pmc21 structure is a (quasi) direct-gap semiconductor that possesses a high electron mobility of ∼800 cm2 V-1 s-1 along the k a direction, which is much higher than that of MoS2 (∼200 cm2 V-1 s-1). More importantly, the Pmc21 GeP2 monolayer not only can serve as an n-type channel material in field-effect transistors but also can be an effective catalyst for splitting water.

High-mobility field-effect transistor based on crystalline ZnSnO3 thin films

We propose crystalline ZnSnO3 as a new channel material for field-effect transistors. By molecular-beam epitaxy on LiNbO3(0001) substrates, we synthesized films of ZnSnO3, which crystallizes in the LiNbO3-type polar structure. Field-effect transistors on ZnSnO3 exhibit n-type operation with field-effect mobility of as high as 45 cm2V−1s−1 at room temperature. Systematic examination of the transistor operation for channels with different Zn/Sn compositional ratios revealed that the observed high-mobility reflects the nature of stoichiometric ZnSnO3 phase. Moreover, we found an indication of coupling of transistor characteristics with intrinsic spontaneous polarization in ZnSnO3, potentially leading to a distinct type of polarization-induced conduction.

Metal–insulator transition in a transition metal dichalcogenide: Dependence on metal contacts

Transition metal dichalcogenides are promising layered materials for realizing novel nanoelectronic and nano-optoelectronic devices. Molybdenum disulfide (MoS2), a typical transition metal dichalcogenide, has been extensively investigated due to the presence of a sizable band gap, which enables the use of MoS2 as a channel material in field-effect transistors (FET). The gate-voltage-tunable metal–insulator transition and superconductivity using MoS2 have been demonstrated in previous studies. These interesting phenomena can be considered as quantum phase transitions in two-dimensional systems. In this study, we observed that the transport properties of thin MoS2 flakes in FET geometry significantly depend on metal contacts. On comparing Ti/Au with Al contacts, it was found that the threshold voltages for FET switching and metal–insulator transition were considerably lower for the device with Al contacts. This result indicated the significant influence of the Al contacts on the properties of MoS2 devices.