Interface Trap Suppression and Electron Doping in Van der Waals Materials Using Cross-Linked Poly(vinylpyrrolidone).

The instability of van der Waals (vdW) materials leads to spontaneous morphological and chemical transformations in the air. Although the passivation of vdW materials with other resistive materials is often used to solve stability issues, this passivation layer can block carrier injection and thus interfere with charge transfer doping. In this study, a facile method is proposed for n-doping and mediation of Se vacancies in tungsten diselenide (WSe2) by poly(vinylpyrrolidone) (PVP) coating. The major carrier type of the PVP-coated WSe2-based field-effect transistor (FET) was converted from hole (p-type) to electron (n-type). Furthermore, the vacancy-induced interface trap density was reduced by approximately 500 times. This study provides a practical doping and passivation method for the van der Waals materials, as well as a comprehensive understanding of the chemical reaction and electronic transport in these materials.

Distinctive Field-Effect Transistors and Ternary Inverters Using Cross-Type WSe2/MoS2 Heterojunctions Treated with Polymer Acid.

The electrical and optical characteristics of two-dimensional (2D) transition-metal dichalcogenides (TMDCs) can be improved by surface modification. In this study, distinctive field-effect transistors (FETs) were realized by forming cross-type 2D WSe2/MoS2 p-n heterojunctions through surface treatment using poly(methyl methacrylate-co-methacrylic acid) (PMMA-co-PMAA). The FETs were applied to new ternary inverters as multivalued logic circuits (MVLCs). Laser confocal microscope photoluminescence spectroscopy indicated the generation of trions in the WSe2 and MoS2 layers, and the intensity decreased after PMMA-co-PMAA treatment. For the cross-type WSe2/MoS2 p-n heterojunction FETs subjected to PMMA-co-PMAA treatment, the channel current and the region of anti-ambipolar transistor characteristics increased considerably, and ternary inverter characteristics with three stable logic states, "1", "1/2", and "0", were realized. Interestingly, the intermediate logic state 1/2, which results from the negative differential transconductance characteristics, was realized by the turn-on of all component FETs, as the current of the FETs increased after PMMA-co-PMAA treatment. The electron-rich carboxyl acid moieties in PMMA-co-PMAA can undergo coordination with the metal Mo or W atoms present in the Se or S vacancies, respectively, resulting in the modulation of charge density. These features yielded distinctive FETs and ternary inverters for MVLCs using cross-type WSe2/MoS2 heterojunctions.

Hybrid Characteristics of MoS2 Monolayer with Organic Semiconducting Tetracene and Application to Anti-Ambipolar Field Effect Transistor.

An n-type MoS2 monolayer grown by chemical vapor deposition method was partially hybridized with an organic semiconducting p-type tetracene thin film. The photoluminescence (PL) intensity in the hybrid region of the MoS2/tetracene is clearly lower than that of pristine tetracene because of the charge-transfer effect, which was confirmed by the decrease in exciton lifetimes. Decrease in the temperature led to blue-shift in the PL peak position of MoS2 layers and, consequently, the PL intensities of both tetracene and MoS2 considerably increased owing to the decrease in phonon interaction. The PL spectra of bound excitons in the hybrid region were clearly observed at low temperatures, indicating the formation of trap states. The lateral-type n-p heterojunction field-effect transistors (FETs) using the MoS2/tetracene hybrid as an active layer showed gate-tunable rectification I- V and anti-ambipolar field-effect characteristics with hysteresis effect. The charge transport characteristics across the n-p heterojunction of the hybrid region of the FET can be explained in terms of the Shockley-Read-Hall trap-intermediated tunneling and Langevin recombination mechanisms. To improve the performance of MoS2/tetracene-based FET, a dielectric hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN) thin layer was inserted between the SiO2 surface and the active MoS2 layer. We observed the decrease in the hysteresis effect and threshold voltage of the h-BN/MoS2/tetracene-based FETs due to the decrease in the number of traps at the interface. The performance of h-BN/MoS2/tetracene FET device was also enhanced after the annealing process.

Photovoltaic Field-Effect Transistors Using a MoS2 and Organic Rubrene van der Waals Hybrid.

A several-layer n-type MoS2 was partially hybridized with an organic crystalline p-type rubrene nanosheet through van der Waals interactions to fabricate a two-dimensional (2-D) lateral-type n-p heterojunction optoelectronic device. The field-effect transistors (FETs) using lateral-type MoS2/rubrene hybrids exhibited both gate-tunable diode and anti-ambipolar transistor characteristics. The FET devices show the coexistence of n-type states, p-type states, and off-states controlled by the gate bias. From the photocurrent mapping experiments, the gate-bias-dependent photovoltaic effect was observed from the heterojunction regions of the MoS2/rubrene FETs. Furthermore, the photovoltaic FETs were successfully operated by light irradiation without applying source-drain bias and controlled using gate bias. These devices represent new solar-energy-driven 2-D multifunctional electronic devices.