Note: When clicking on a Digital Object Identifier (DOI) number, you will be taken to an external site maintained by the publisher.
Some full text articles may not yet be available without a charge during the embargo (administrative interval).
What is a DOI Number?
Some links on this page may take you to non-federal websites. Their policies may differ from this site.
-
Two-dimensional (2D) materials offer exciting possibilities for numerous applications, including next-generation sensors and field-effect transistors (FETs). With their atomically thin form factor, it is evident that molecular activity at the interfaces of 2D materials can shape their electronic properties. Although much attention has focused on engineering the contact and dielectric interfaces in 2D material-based transistors to boost their drive current, less is understood about how to tune these interfaces to improve the long-term stability of devices. In this work, we evaluated molybdenum disulfide (MoS2) transistors under continuous electrical stress for periods lasting up to several days. During stress in ambient air, we observed temporary threshold voltage shifts that increased at higher gate voltages or longer stress durations, correlating to changes in interface trap states (ΔNit) of up to 1012 cm–2. By modifying the device to include either SU-8 or Al2O3 as an additional dielectric capping layer on top of the MoS2 channel, we were able to effectively reduce or even eliminate this unstable behavior. However, we found this encapsulating material must be selected carefully, as certain choices actually amplified instability or compromised device yield, as was the case for Al2O3, which reduced yield by 20% versus all other capping layers. Further refining these strategies to preserve stability in 2D devices will be crucial for their continued integration into future technologies.more » « less
-
Abstract 2D semiconducting materials have immense potential for future electronics due to their atomically thin nature, which enables better scalability. While the channel scalability of 2D materials has been extensively studied, the current understanding of contact scaling in 2D devices is inconsistent and oversimplified. Here physically scaled contacts and asymmetrical contact measurements (ACMs) are combined to investigate the contact scaling behavior in 2D field‐effect transistors. The ACMs directly compare electron injection at different contact lengths while using the exact same MoS2 channel, eliminating channel‐to‐channel variations. The results show that scaled source contacts can limit the drain current, whereas scaled drain contacts do not. Compared to devices with long contact lengths, devices with short contact lengths (scaled contacts) exhibit larger variations, 15% lower drain currents at high drain–source voltages, and a higher chance of early saturation and negative differential resistance. Quantum transport simulations reveal that the transfer length of Ni–MoS2 contacts can be as short as 5 nm. Furthermore, it is clearly identified that the actual transfer length depends on the quality of the metal‐2D interface. The ACMs demonstrated here will enable further understanding of contact scaling behavior at various interfaces.