MoTe2 Field-effect Transistors Research Articles

Reversible Polarity Control in 2D MoTe2 Field‐Effect Transistors for Complementary Logic Gate Applications

AbstractPrecise control over polarity in field‐effect transistors (FETs) plays a pivotal role in the design and construction of complementary metal–oxide–semiconductor (CMOS) logic circuits. In particular, achieving such precise polarity control in 2D semiconductors is crucial for the further development of advanced electronic applications beyond unit devices. This paper presents a systematic investigation on the reversible transition of carrier types in a 2D MoTe2 semiconductor under different annealing atmospheres. Photoemission spectroscopy and density functional theory (DFT) calculations demonstrate that annealing processes in vacuum and in ambient air induce a modification in the density of states, resulting in alterations in p‐type or n‐type characteristics. These reversible changes are attributed to the physisorption and elimination of oxygen on the surface of MoTe2. Furthermore, it is found that the device geometry affects the polarity of the transistor. By strategically manipulating both the annealing conditions and the geometric configuration, the n‐ and p‐type unipolar characteristics of MoTe2 FETs are successfully modulated and ultimately demonstrating that the functionality of not only a complementary inverter with a high voltage gain of ≈20, but also more complex logic circuits of NAND and NOR gates.

Lowering the Schottky Barrier Height by Quasi-van der Waals Contacts for High-Performance p-Type MoTe2 Field-Effect Transistors.

Two-dimensional (2D) transition-metal dichalcogenides (TMDs) offer advantages over traditional silicon in future electronics but are hampered by the prominent high contact resistance of metal-TMD interfaces, especially for p-type TMDs. Here, we present high-performance p-type MoTe2 field-effect transistors via a nondestructive van der Waals (vdW) transfer process, establishing low contact resistance between the 2D MoTe2 semiconductor and the PtTe2 semimetal. The integration of PtTe2 as contacts in MoTe2 field-effect transistors leads to significantly improved electrical characteristics compared to conventional metal contacts, evidenced by a mobility increase to 80 cm2 V-1 s-1, an on-state current rise to 5.0 μA/μm, and a reduction in Schottky barrier height (SBH) to 48 meV. Such a low SBH in quasi-van der Waals contacts can be assigned to the low electrical resistivity of PtTe2 and the high efficiency of carrier injection at the 2D semimetal/2D semiconductor interfaces. Imaging via transmission electron microscopy reveals that the 2D semimetal/two-dimensional semiconductor interfaces are atomically flat and exceptionally clean. This interface engineering strategy could enable low-resistance contacts based on vdW architectures in a facile manner, providing opportunities for 2D materials for next-generation optoelectronics and electronics.

Manipulation of Charge Transport in MoS2/MoTe2 Field Effect Transistors and Heterostructure by Propagating the Surface Acoustic Wave.

Two-dimensional (2D) materials with atomic-scale thickness are promising candidates to develop next-generation electronic and optoelectronic devices with multiple functions due to their widely tunable physical properties by various stimuli. The surface acoustic wave (SAW) produced at the surface of the piezoelectrical substrate can generate electrical and strain fields simultaneously with micro/nanometer resolution during propagation. It provides a stable and wireless platform to manipulate the rich and fascinating properties of 2D materials. However, the interaction mechanisms between the SAW and 2D materials remain unclear, preventing further development and potential applications of SAW-integrated 2D devices. This work studied the acoustoelectric (AE) charge transport mechanism in 2D materials thoroughly by characterizing the performances of the n-type MoS2 and p-type MoTe2 field effect transistors (FETs) and the MoS2/MoTe2 p-n junction driven by the SAW. As compared to the case driven by the static electrical field alone, the SAW drove the electron and hole transport along the same direction as its propagation, and the generated AE current always had the opposite direction to the AE voltage. In the device level, the 2D FETs showed a significantly reduced subthreshold swing up to around 67% when the SAW was used to drive the channel carriers, indicating that the SAW enhanced the on/off switching speed. Moreover, the MoTe2/MoS2 p-n junction showed a tunable photoresponsivity by the power and propagation direction of the SAW. These findings provide a solid foundation to promote future research and potential applications of SAW-driven multifunctional devices based on 2D materials.

Single flake homo p–n diode of MoTe2 enabled by oxygen plasma doping

Abstract Two-dimensional (2D) materials play a crucial role as fundamental electrical components in modern electronics and optoelectronics next-generation artificial intelligent devices. This study presents a methodology for creating a laterally uniform p–n junction by using a partial oxygen plasma-mediated strategy to introduce p-type doping in single channel MoTe2 device. The MoTe2 field effect transistors (FETs) show high electron mobility of about ∼23.54 cm2 V−1 s−1 and a current ON/OFF ratio of ∼106 while p-type FETs show hole mobility of about ∼9.25 cm2 V−1 s−1 and current ON/OFF ratio ∼105 along with artificially created lateral MoTe2 p–n junction, exhibited a rectification ratio of ∼102 and ideality factor of ∼1.7 which is proximity to ideal-like diode. Thus, our study showed a diversity in the development of low-power nanoelectronics of next-generation integrated circuits.

Investigating charge traps in MoTe2 field-effect transistors: SiO2 insulator traps and MoTe2 bulk traps

Two-dimensional material-based field-effect transistors are promising for future use in electronic and optoelectronic applications. However, trap states existing in the transistors are known to hinder device performance. They capture/release carriers in the channel and lead to hysteresis in the transfer characteristics. In this work, we fabricated MoTe2 field-effect transistors on two different gate dielectrics, SiO2 and h-BN, and investigated temperature-dependent charge trapping behavior on the hysteresis in their transfer curves. We observed that devices with SiO2 back-gate dielectric are affected by both SiO2 insulator traps and MoTe2 intrinsic bulk traps, with the latter becoming prominent at temperatures above 310 K. Conversely, devices with h-BN back-gate dielectric, which host a negligible number of insulator traps, primarily exhibit MoTe2 bulk traps at high temperatures, enabling us to estimate the trap energy level at 389 meV below the conduction band edge. A similar energy level of 396 meV below the conduction band edge was observed from the emission current transient measurement. From a previous computational study, we expect these trap states to be the tellurium vacancy. Our results suggest that charge traps in MoTe2 field-effect transistors can be reduced by careful selection of gate insulators, thus providing guidelines for device fabrication.

Self-Assembled Monolayer Doping for MoTe2 Field-Effect Transistors: Overcoming PN Doping Challenges in Transition Metal Dichalcogenides.

Transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDs) have gained significant attention as next-generation semiconductor materials that could potentially overcome the integration limits of silicon-based electronic devices. However, a challenge in utilizing TMDs as semiconductors is the lack of an established PN doping method to effectively control their electrical properties, unlike those of silicon-based semiconductors. Conventional PN doping methods, such as ion implantation, can induce lattice damage in TMDs. Thus, chemical doping methods that can control the Schottky barrier while minimizing lattice damage are desirable. Here, we focus on the molybdenum ditelluride (2H-MoTe2), which has a hexagonal phase and exhibits ambipolar field-effect transistor (FET) properties due to its direct band gap of 1.1 eV, enabling concurrent transport of electrons and holes. We demonstrate the fabrication of p- or n-type unipolar FETs in ambipolar MoTe2 FETs using self-assembled monolayers (SAMs) as chemical dopants. Specifically, we employ 1H,1H,2H,2H perfluorooctyltriethoxysilane and (3-aminopropyl)triethoxysilane as SAMs for chemical doping. The selective SAMs effectively increase the hole and electron charge transport capabilities in MoTe2 FETs by 18.4- and 4.6-fold, respectively, due to the dipole effect of the SAMs. Furthermore, the Raman shift of MoTe2 by SAM coating confirms the successful p- and n-type doping. Finally, we demonstrate the fabrication of complementary inverters using SAMs-doped MoTe2 FETs, which exhibit clear full-swing capability compared to undoped complementary inverters.

Reversible tuning of charge Carrier's polarity of MoTe2 FETs enabled by laser and high temperature

The transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDs) materials exhibit variety of crystal phase structures and vulnerable to extrinsic doping for phase transformation, leading diverse electronic applications. Here we demonstrate the controlled charge carrier's polarity in the phase transition of molybdenum ditelluride (MoTe2) based field effect transistors (FETs) affected by laser irradiations in ambient environment. The conductivity in MoTe2-based FETs was measured before and after laser irradiations in a range of temperatures (77, 100, 150, 200, 250, 300, 350 and 400 K). The devices achieved reversible charge polarity by changing its 2H phase to semimetal 1Tʹ phase upon laser irradiations and returned to its original state once treated with high temperature 400 K. Since, the 1Tʹ phase is confirmed by Raman spectroscopy, transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and electrical transport measurements. Thus, our finding provides an effective approach in controlling charge carrier's modulation in laser-doped 2D materials for electronic and optoelectronic applications.

Strain Engineering for Enhancing Carrier Mobility in MoTe2 Field-Effect Transistors.

Molybdenum ditelluride (MoTe2 ) exhibits immense potential in post-silicon electronics due to its bandgap comparable to silicon. Unlike other 2D materials, MoTe2 allows easy phase modulation and efficient carrier type controlin electrical transport. However, its unstable nature and low-carrier mobility limit practical implementation in devices. Here, a deterministic method is proposed to improve the performance of MoTe2 devices by inducing local tensile strain through substrate engineering and encapsulation processes. The approach involves creatinghole arrays in the substrate and using atomic layer deposition grown Al2 O3 as an additional back-gate dielectric layer on SiO2 . The MoTe2 channel is passivated with a thick layer of Al2 O3 post-fabrication. This structure significantly improves hole and electron mobilities in MoTe2 field-effect transistors (FETs), approaching theoretical limits. Hole mobility up to 130 cm-2 V-1 s-1 and electron mobility up to 160 cm-2 V-1 s-1 are achieved. Introducing local tensile strain through the hole array enhances electron mobility by up to 6 times compared to the unstrained devices. Remarkably, the devices exhibit metal-insulator transition in MoTe2 FETs, with a well-defined critical point. This study presents a novel technique to enhance carrier mobility in MoTe2 FETs, offering promising prospects for improving2D material performance in electronic applications.

Triboelectric-potential configurable MoTe2 homojunction for photovoltaic device and logic circuits

Reconfigurable devices based on two-dimensional materials are considered as one of the ways to extend Moore's Law. However, most reconfigurable devices use a gate voltage to dope the channel electrostatically, and the continuously applied gate voltage poses the problem of high device power consumption. Here, for the first time, we propose a tribotronic reconfigurable MoTe2 field effect transistor, where the power consumption of the device is greatly reduced by using triboelectric potentials generated by external mechanical operations instead of applying gate voltages. The drain current noise spectral density test proves that no additional current noise interferes with the output current during mechanical operation. Mechanical operation allows facile modulation of four different channel polarities (n-n, p-p, p-n, and n-p) in a single transistor. We demonstrate the potential application of a tribotronic p-n diode for photovoltaic device. The logic circuit composed of two tribotronic reconfigurable transistors realizes the logic functions of inverter, AND gate, and OR gate. Our device extends tribotronic logic and demonstrates great potential for human-machine interaction, intelligent sensors, and wearable devices.

Conversion of Charge Carrier Polarity in MoTe2 Field Effect Transistor via Laser Doping.

A two-dimensional (2D) atomic crystalline transition metal dichalcogenides has shown immense features, aiming for future nanoelectronic devices comparable to conventional silicon (Si). 2D molybdenum ditelluride (MoTe2) has a small bandgap, appears close to that of Si, and is more favorable than other typical 2D semiconductors. In this study, we demonstrate laser-induced p-type doping in a selective region of n-type semiconducting MoTe2 field effect transistors (FET) with an advance in using the hexagonal boron nitride as passivation layer from protecting the structure phase change from laser doping. A single nanoflake MoTe2-based FET, exhibiting initial n-type and converting to p-type in clear four-step doping, changing charge transport behavior in a selective surface region by laser doping. The device shows high electron mobility of about 23.4 cm2V-1s-1 in an intrinsic n-type channel and hole mobility of about 0.61 cm2V-1s-1 with a high on/off ratio. The device was measured in the range of temperature 77-300 K to observe the consistency of the MoTe2-based FET in intrinsic and laser-dopped region. In addition, we measured the device as a complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) inverter by switching the charge-carrier polarity of the MoTe2 FET. This fabrication process of selective laser doping can potentially be used for larger-scale MoTe2 CMOS circuit applications.

Largely Reducing the Contact Resistance of Molybdenum Ditelluride by In Situ Potassium Modification

AbstractSemiconducting molybdenum ditelluride (MoTe2) is widely reported owing to its favorable electronic and optoelectronic properties. The effective modulation of its electrical characteristics has garnered growing attention in regard to building high‐performance MoTe2‐based complementary devices. However, the inherent Schottky barrier (SB) in MoTe2‐based devices severely inhibits the charge‐carrier injection efficiency, leading to a high contact resistance between MoTe2 and contact metals. Here, an efficient method is presented for reducing the SB height of field‐effect transistors (FETs) based on MoTe2 by in situ potassium modification. Interestingly, the electrons transported from K continuously change the electrical characteristics of MoTe2 FET from ambipolar to n‐type with an improvement of electron mobility of over one order of magnitude. Meanwhile, the contact resistance of MoTe2 FET is significantly decreased from 11.5 to 0.4 kΩ µm. By regulating the modification region spatially, it is possible to create a complementary inverter with a high gain of ≈32 at VDD = 3 V. This research demonstrates a relatively simple method for optimizing the contact for MoTe2‐based devices and tuning the electrical properties of MoTe2 for future high‐performance complementary electronics.

Simulation of a Steep-Slope p- and n-Type HfS2/MoTe2 Field-Effect Transistor with the Hybrid Transport Mechanism

The use of a two-dimensional (2D) van der Waals (vdW) metal-semiconductor (MS) heterojunction as an efficient cold source (CS) has recently been proposed as a promising approach in the development of steep-slope field-effect transistors (FETs). In addition to the selection of source materials with linearly decreasing density-of-states-energy relations (D(E)s), in this study, we further verified, by means of a computer simulation, that a 2D semiconductor-semiconductor combination could also be used as an efficient CS. As a test case, a HfS2/MoTe2 FET was studied. It was found that MoTe2 can be spontaneously p-type-doped by interfacing with n-doped HfS2, resulting in a truncated decaying hot-carrier density with an increasing p-type channel barrier. Compared to the conventional MoTe2 FET, the subthreshold swing (SS) of the HfS2/MoTe2 FET can be significantly reduced to below 60 mV/decade, and the on-state current can be greatly enhanced by more than two orders of magnitude. It was found that there exists a hybrid transport mechanism involving the cold injection and the tunneling effect in such a p- and n-type HfS2/MoTe2 FET, which provides a new design insight into future low-power and high-performance 2D electronics from a physical point of view.

Real-Time Ratiometric Optical Nanoscale Thermometry

All-optical nanothermometry has become a powerful, remote tool for measuring nanoscale temperatures in applications ranging from medicine to nano-optics and solid-state nanodevices. The key features of any candidate nanothermometer are brightness, sensitivity, and (signal, spatial, and temporal) resolution. Here, we demonstrate a real-time, diamond-based nanothermometry technique with excellent sensitivity (1.8% K-1) and record-high resolution (5.8 × 104 K Hz-1/2 W cm-2) based on codoped nanodiamonds. The distinct performance of our approach stems from two factors: (i) temperature sensors─nanodiamonds cohosting two group IV color centers─engineered to emit spectrally separated Stokes and anti-Stokes fluorescence signals under excitation by a single laser source and (ii) a parallel detection scheme based on filtering optics and high-sensitivity photon counters for fast readout. We demonstrate the performance of our method by monitoring temporal changes in the local temperature of a microcircuit and a MoTe2 field-effect transistor. Our work advances a powerful, alternative strategy for time-resolved temperature monitoring and mapping of micro-/nanoscale devices such as microfluidic channels, nanophotonic circuits, and nanoelectronic devices, as well as complex biological environments such as tissues and cells.

Digital Keying Enabled by Reconfigurable 2D Modulators.

Energy, area, and bandwidth efficient communication primitives are essential to sustain the rapid increase in connectivity among internet-of-things (IoT) edge devices. While IoT edge-sensing, edge-computing, and edge-storage have witnessed innovation in materials and devices, IoT edge communication is yet to experience such transformation. The aging silicon (Si)-based complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) technology continues to remain the mainstay of communication devices where they are used to implement amplitude, frequency, and phase shift keying (amplitude-shift keying [ASK]/frequency-shift keying [FSK]/phase-shift keying [PSK]). Keying allows digital information to be communicated over a radio channel. While CMOS-based keying devices have evolved over the years, their hardware footprint and energy consumption are major concerns for resource constrained IoT communication. Furthermore, separate circuit designs and hardware elements are needed for each keying scheme and achieving multibit modulation to improve bandwidth efficiency remains a challenge. Here, a reconfigurable modulator is introduced that exploits unique ambipolar transport and programmable Dirac voltage in ultrathin MoTe2 field-effect transistors to achieve ASK, FSK, and PSK modulation. Furthermore, by integrating two programmed MoTe2 field-effect transistors, multibit data modulation is demonstrated, which improves the bandwidth efficiency by 200%. Finally, a frequency quadrupler is also realized exploiting the unique "double-well" transfer characteristic.

Lowering Contact Resistances of Two-Dimensional Semiconductors by Memristive Forming.

Two-dimensional semiconductors have great potential for beyond-silicon electronics. However, because of the lack of controllable doping methods, Fermi level pinning, and van der Waals (vdW) gaps at the metal-semiconductor interfaces, these devices exhibit high electrical contact resistances, restricting their practical applications. Here, we report a general contact-resistance-lowering strategy by constructing vertical metal-semiconductor-metal memristor structures at the contact regions and setting them into a nonvolatile low-resistance state through a memristive forming process. Through this, we reduce the contact resistances of MoS2 field-effect transistors (FETs) by at least one order of magnitude and improve the on-state current densities of MoTe2 FETs by about two orders of magnitude. We also demonstrate that this strategy is applicable to other two-dimensional semiconductors, including MoSe2, WS2, and WSe2, and a variety of contact metals, including Au, Cu, Ni, and Pd. The good stability and universality indicate the great potential for technological applications.

Experimental and theoretical insights into electronic properties of oxygen-doped MoTe2 field effect transistor

Modulating the electrical and photo-electrical properties is essential to enlighten the potential application in the case of field-effect transistors and other electronic devices. Molybdenum ditelluride (MoTe2), which has a limited energy gap and shows spin-orbit coupling, has piqued curiosity among two-dimensional (2D) transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDCs) and has appeared as a significant material with innovative electronic applications. In this work, we have reported the electrical modulation of multilayer MoTe2-FETs by gas doping under deep ultra-violet (DUV) light. After DUV treatment, the device characteristics were also investigated with oxygen doping. A shift in threshold voltage was observed from negative to positive back-gate voltage (Vbg), revealing a p-type doping effect. This doping effect is further confirmed through the Raman peaks, A1g and E12g were shifted towards higher wavenumbers. For pristine to 30-min doping intervals, the current ON/OFF ratio increased from 104 to 106 and the mobility of the device is enhanced from 22.36 cm2/V.s to 102.43 cm2/V.s. In addition, we used density functional theory (DFT) to investigate the impact of oxygen doping on the electrical and optical properties of MoTe2. The electronic bandgap was determined to be 0.8 eV, which can be a promising material for lower energy devices. The oxygen-doped MoTe2-based field-effect transistors are predicted to be a promising contender for low and high-temperature applications based on the highly intense peak of absorption spectra in the ultra-violet and visible regions of electromagnetic spectra.

Diffused Beam Energy to Dope van der Waals Electronics and Boost Their Contact Barrier Lowering.

Contact engineering of two-dimensional semiconductors is a central issue for performance improvement of micro-/nanodevices based on these materials. Unfortunately, the various methods proposed to improve the Schottky barrier height normally require the use of high temperatures, chemical dopants, or complex processes. This work demonstrates that diffused electron beam energy (DEBE) treatment can simultaneously reduce the Schottky barrier height and enable the direct writing of electrical circuitry on van der Waals semiconductors. The electron beam energy projected into the region outside the electrode diffuses into the main channel, producing selective-area n-type doping in a layered MoTe2 (or MoS2) field-effect transistor. As a result, the Schottky barrier height at the interface between the electrode and the DEBE-treated MoTe2 channel is as low as 12 meV. Additionally, because selective-area doping is possible, DEBE can allow the formation of both n- and p-type doped channels within the same atomic plane, which enables the creation of a nonvolatile and homogeneous MoTe2 p-n rectifier with an ideality factor of 1.1 and a rectification ratio of 1.3 × 103. These results indicate that the DEBE method is a simple, efficient, mask-free, and chemical dopant-free approach to selective-area doping for the development of van der Waals electronics with excellent device performances.

Field Effect Transistor Sensors Based on In‐Plane 1T′/2H/1T′ MoTe2 Heterophases with Superior Sensitivity and Output Signals

Abstract2D materials, with their extraordinary physical and chemical properties, have gained extensive interest for physical, chemical and biological sensing applications. However, 2D material‐based devices, such as field effect transistors (FETs) often show high contact resistance and low output signals, which severely affect their sensing performance. In this study, a new strategy is developed to combine metallic and semiconducting polymorphs of transition‐metal dichalcogenides (TMDCs) to solve this critical issue. Such a phase engineering methodology to integrate large‐scale and spatially assembled multilayers of 2H MoTe2 FETs with coplanar metallic 1T′ MoTe2 contacts is applied. Such in‐plane heterophase‐based FETs exhibit an ohmic contact behavior with an extremely low contact resistance due to the coplanar and seamless connections between 2H and 1T′ phases of MoTe2. These 1T′/2H/1T′ based FETs are successfully demonstrated for detecting NH3 with high current outputs increased up to microamp levels without using any conventional interdigital electrodes, which is compatible with the current CMOS circuits for practical applications. Furthermore, the as‐fabricated sensors can detect NH3 gas concentrations down to 5 ppm at room temperature. This study demonstrates a new strategy of applying the heterophase MoTe2‐based nanoelectronics for high‐performance sensing applications.

The non-volatile electrostatic doping effect in MoTe2 field-effect transistors controlled by hexagonal boron nitride and a metal gate

The electrical and optical properties of transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDs) can be effectively modulated by tuning their Fermi levels. To develop a carrier-selectable optoelectronic device, we investigated intrinsically p-type MoTe2, which can be changed to n-type by charging a hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN) substrate through the application of a writing voltage using a metal gate under deep ultraviolet light. The n-type part of MoTe2 can be obtained locally using the metal gate pattern, whereas the other parts remain p-type. Furthermore, we can control the transition rate to n-type by applying a different writing voltage (i.e., − 2 to − 10 V), where the n-type characteristics become saturated beyond a certain writing voltage. Thus, MoTe2 was electrostatically doped by a charged h-BN substrate, and it was found that a thicker h-BN substrate was more efficiently photocharged than a thinner one. We also fabricated a p–n diode using a 0.8 nm-thick MoTe2 flake on a 167 nm-thick h-BN substrate, which showed a high rectification ratio of ~ 10−4. Our observations pave the way for expanding the application of TMD-based FETs to diode rectification devices, along with optoelectronic applications.

Synergistic hole-doping on ultrathin MoTe2 for highly stable unipolar field-effect transistor

Despite an appropriate energy bandgap and potential to achieve unipolar p-type from initial ambipolar, the oxidative sensitivity nature of monolayer MoTe2 has hindered its further device development for practical electronic and optoelectronic applications. Here, we demonstrate a facile superacid (TFSI) doping approach to construct a highly stable unipolar p-type MoTe2 at the atomically thin limit, without harnessing its structure. From Raman analysis, a controllable hole-doping effect of MoTe2 is evident by tuning the TFSI molarity (м). Considerable shifts and sharpening in A1g peaks were observed, indicating the p-doping effect induced by TFSI treatment. When combining this technique with PMMA encapsulation, the obtained monolayer MoTe2 field-effect transistor (FET) displays dramatic conversion from ambipolar to unipolar p-type, high on/off ratio of 106, and mobility increases of up to 250 times, which is among the highest mobility increment factor to date. By integrating X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), Raman spectroscopy, and atomic force microscopy techniques, it is further clarified that the hydrogen bonds between PMMA and TFSI are a key mechanism to enable oxidation prevention while also synergizing the doping effect of TFSI via an efficient electron-withdrawing network on monolayer MoTe2 FET.