Percolative switching in transition metal dichalcogenide field-effect transistors at room temperature

Photodetectors of 2D Materials from Ultraviolet to Terahertz Waves

2D materials are considered to be the most promising materials for photodetectors due to their unique optical and electrical properties. Since the discovery of graphene, many photodetectors based on 2D materials have been reported. However, the low quantum efficiency, large noise, and slow response caused by the thinness of 2D materials limit their application in photodetectors. Here, recent progress on 2D material photodetectors is reviewed, covering the spectrum from ultraviolet to terahertz waves. First the interaction of 2D materials with light is analyzed in terms of optical physics. Then the present methods to improve the performance of 2D material photodetectors are summarized, such as defect engineering, p-n junctions and hybrid detectors, and the issue of serious overestimation of the performance in reported photodetectors based on 2D materials is discussed. Next, a comparison of 2D material photodetectors with traditional commercially available detectors shows that it is difficult to balance the current 2D material photodetectors with regard to having simultaneously both high sensitivity and fast response. Finally, a possible novel EIW mechanism is suggested to advance the performance of 2D material photodetectors in the future.

Optimal architecture for ultralow noise graphene transistors at room temperature

The fundamental origin of low-frequency noise in graphene field effect transistors (GFETs) has been widely explored but a generic engineering strategy towards low noise GFETs is lacking. Here, we systematically study and eliminate dominant sources of electrical noise to achieve ultralow noise GFETs. We find that in edge contacted, high-quality hexagonal boron nitride (hBN) encapsulated GFETs, the inclusion of a graphite bottom gate and long (⪆1.2 μm) channel-contact distance significantly reduces noise as compared to global Si/SiO₂ gated devices. From the scaling of the remaining noise with channel area and its temperature dependence, we attribute this to the traps in hBN. To further screen the charge traps in hBN, we place few layers of MoS₂ between graphene and hBN, and demonstrate that the noise is as low as ∼5.2 × 10^-9μm² Hz^-1 (corresponding to minimum Hooge parameter ∼5.2 × 10^-6) in GFETs at room temperature, which is an order of magnitude lower than the earlier reported values.

Thermal History-Dependent Current Relaxation in hBN/MoS2 van der Waals Dimers

Combining atomically thin layers of van der Waals (vdW) materials in a chosen vertical sequence is an emerging route to create devices with desired functionalities. While this method aims to exploit the individual properties of partnering layers, strong interlayer coupling can significantly alter their electronic and optical properties. Here we explored the impact of the vdW epitaxy on electrical transport in atomically thin molybdenum disulfide (MoS₂) when it forms a vdW dimer with crystalline films of hexagonal boron nitride (hBN). We observe a thermal history-dependent long-term (over ∼40 h) current relaxation in the overlap region of MoS₂/hBN heterostructures, which is absent in bare MoS₂ layers (or homoepitaxial MoS₂/MoS₂ dimers) on the same substrate. Concurrent relaxation in the low-frequency Raman modes in MoS₂ in the heterostructure region suggests a slow structural relaxation between trigonal and octahedral polymorphs of MoS₂ as a likely driving mechanism that also results in inhomogeneous charge distribution in the MoS₂ layer. Our experiment yields an aspect of vdW heteroepitaxy that can be generic to electrical devices with atomically thin transition-metal dichalcogenides.

Recent Progress and Future Prospects of 2D-Based Photodetectors

Conventional semiconductors such as silicon- and indium gallium arsenide (InGaAs)-based photodetectors have encountered a bottleneck in modern electronics and photonics in terms of spectral coverage, low resolution, nontransparency, nonflexibility, and complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) incompatibility. New emerging two-dimensional (2D) materials such as graphene, transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDs), and their hybrid systems thereof, however, can circumvent all these issues benefitting from mechanically flexibility, extraordinary electronic and optical properties, as well as wafer-scale production and integration. Heterojunction-based photodiodes based on 2D materials offer ultrafast and broadband response from the visible to far-infrared range. Phototransistors based on 2D hybrid systems combined with other material platforms such as quantum dots, perovskites, organic materials, or plasmonic nanostructures yield ultrasensitive and broadband light-detection capabilities. Notably the facile integration of 2D photodetectors on silicon photonics or CMOS platforms paves the way toward high-performance, low-cost, broadband sensing and imaging modalities.

Number-Resolved Single-Photon Detection with Ultralow Noise van der Waals Hybrid

Van der Waals hybrids of graphene and transition metal dichalcogenides exhibit an extremely large response to optical excitation, yet counting of photons with single-photon resolution is not achieved. Here, a dual-gated bilayer graphene (BLG) and molybdenum disulphide (MoS₂ ) hybrid are demonstrated, where opening a band gap in the BLG allows extremely low channel (receiver) noise and large optical gain (≈10¹⁰ ) simultaneously. The resulting device is capable of unambiguous determination of the Poissonian emission statistics of an optical source with single-photon resolution at an operating temperature of 80 K, dark count rate 0.07 Hz, and linear dynamic range of ≈40 dB. Single-shot number-resolved single-photon detection with van der Waals heterostructures may impact multiple technologies, including the linear optical quantum computation.

Effect of Carrier Localization on Electrical Transport and Noise at Individual Grain Boundaries in Monolayer MoS2

Despite its importance in the large-scale synthesis of transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDC) molecular layers, the generic quantum effects on electrical transport across individual grain boundaries (GBs) in TMDC monolayers remain unclear. Here we demonstrate that strong carrier localization due to the increased density of defects determines both temperature dependence of electrical transport and low-frequency noise at the GBs of chemical vapor deposition (CVD)-grown MoS₂ layers. Using field effect devices designed to explore transport across individual GBs, we show that the localization length of electrons in the GB region is ∼30-70% lower than that within the grain, even though the room temperature conductance across the GB, oriented perpendicular to the overall flow of current, may be lower or higher than the intragrain region. Remarkably, we find that the stronger localization is accompanied by nearly 5 orders of magnitude enhancement in the low-frequency noise at the GB region, which increases exponentially when the temperature is reduced. The microscopic framework of electrical transport and noise developed in this paper may be readily extended to other strongly localized two-dimensional systems, including other members of the TMDC family.

Recent Advances in Electronic and Optoelectronic Devices Based on Two-Dimensional Transition Metal Dichalcogenides

Two-dimensional transition metal dichalcogenides (2D TMDCs) offer several attractive features for use in next-generation electronic and optoelectronic devices. Device applications of TMDCs have gained much research interest, and significant advancement has been recorded. In this review, the overall research advancement in electronic and optoelectronic devices based on TMDCs are summarized and discussed. In particular, we focus on evaluating field effect transistors (FETs), photovoltaic cells, light-emitting diodes (LEDs), photodetectors, lasers, and integrated circuits (ICs) using TMDCs.

Current crowding mediated large contact noise in graphene field-effect transistors

The impact of the intrinsic time-dependent fluctuations in the electrical resistance at the graphene–metal interface or the contact noise, on the performance of graphene field-effect transistors, can be as adverse as the contact resistance itself, but remains largely unexplored. Here we have investigated the contact noise in graphene field-effect transistors of varying device geometry and contact configuration, with carrier mobility ranging from 5,000 to 80,000 cm²V⁻¹s⁻¹. Our phenomenological model for contact noise because of current crowding in purely two-dimensional conductors confirms that the contacts dominate the measured resistance noise in all graphene field-effect transistors in the two-probe or invasive four-probe configurations, and surprisingly, also in nearly noninvasive four-probe (Hall bar) configuration in the high-mobility devices. The microscopic origin of contact noise is directly linked to the fluctuating electrostatic environment of the metal–channel interface, which could be generic to two-dimensional material-based electronic devices.

The performance of graphene field effect transistors is adversely affected by fluctuations in the electrical resistance at the graphene/metal interface. Here, the authors unveil the microscopic origin of such contact noise, highlighting the role of current crowding.

Ultralow-Noise Atomic-Scale Structures for Quantum Circuitry in Silicon

The atomically precise doping of silicon with phosphorus (Si:P) using scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) promises ultimate miniaturization of field effect transistors. The one-dimensional (1D) Si:P nanowires are of particular interest, retaining exceptional conductivity down to the atomic scale, and are predicted as interconnects for a scalable silicon-based quantum computer. Here, we show that ultrathin Si:P nanowires form one of the most-stable electrical conductors, with the phenomenological Hooge parameter of low-frequency noise being as low as ≈10(-8) at 4.2 K, nearly 3 orders of magnitude lower than even carbon-nanotube-based 1D conductors. A in-built isolation from the surface charge fluctuations due to encapsulation of the wires within the epitaxial Si matrix is the dominant cause for the observed suppression of noise. Apart from quantum information technology, our results confirm the promising prospects for precision-doped Si:P structures in atomic-scale circuitry for the 11 nm technology node and beyond.