Here we report the properties of field-effect transistors based on a few layers of chemical vapor transport grown α-MoTe2 crystals mechanically exfoliated onto SiO2. We performed field-effect and Hall mobility measurements, as well as Raman scattering and transmission electron microscopy. In contrast to both MoS2 and MoSe2, our MoTe2 field-effect transistors are observed to be hole-doped, displaying on/off ratios surpassing 10(6) and typical subthreshold swings of ∼140 mV per decade. Both field-effect and Hall mobilities indicate maximum values approaching or surpassing 10 cm(2)/(V s), which are comparable to figures previously reported for single or bilayered MoS2 and/or for MoSe2 exfoliated onto SiO2 at room temperature and without the use of dielectric engineering. Raman scattering reveals sharp modes in agreement with previous reports, whose frequencies are found to display little or no dependence on the number of layers. Given that MoS2 is electron-doped, the stacking of MoTe2 onto MoS2 could produce ambipolar field-effect transistors and a gap modulation. Although the overall electronic performance of MoTe2 is comparable to those of MoS2 and MoSe2, the heavier element Te leads to a stronger spin-orbit coupling and possibly to concomitantly longer decoherence times for exciton valley and spin indexes.

Layered hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN) thin film is a dielectric that surpasses carrier mobility by reducing charge scattering with silicon oxide in diverse electronics formed with graphene and transition metal dichalcogenides. However, the h-BN effect on electron doping concentration and Schottky barrier is little known. Here, we report that use of h-BN thin film as a substrate for monolayer MoS can induce ∼6.5 × 10 cm electron doping at room temperature which was determined using theoretical flat band model and interface trap density. The saturated excess electron concentration of MoS on h-BN was found to be ∼5 × 10 cm at high temperature and was significantly reduced at low temperature. Further, the inserted h-BN enables us to reduce the Coulombic charge scattering in MoS/h-BN and lower the effective Schottky barrier height by a factor of 3, which gives rise to four times enhanced the field-effect carrier mobility and an emergence of metal-insulator transition at a much lower charge density of ∼1.0 × 10 cm (T = 25 K). The reduced effective Schottky barrier height in MoS/h-BN is attributed to the decreased effective work function of MoS arisen from h-BN induced n-doping and the reduced effective metal work function due to dipole moments originated from fixed charges in SiO.

The engineering of polymorphs in two-dimensional layered materials has recently attracted significant interest. Although the semiconducting (2H) and metallic (1T) phases are known to be stable in thin-film MoTe2, semiconducting 2H-MoS2 is locally converted into metallic 1T-MoS2 through chemical lithiation. In this paper, we describe the observation of the 2H, 1T, and 1T' phases coexisting in Li-treated MoS2, which result in unusual transport phenomena. Although multiphase MoS2 shows no transistor-gating response, the channel resistance decreases in proportion to the temperature, similar to the behavior of a typical semiconductor. Transmission electron microscopy images clearly show that the 1T and 1T' phases are randomly distributed and intervened with 2H-MoS2, which is referred to as the 1T and 1T' puddling phenomenon. The resistance curve fits well with 2D-variable range-hopping transport behavior, where electrons hop over 1T domains that are bounded by semiconducting 2H phases. However, near 30 K, electrons hop over charge puddles. The large temperature coefficient of resistance (TCR) of multiphase MoS2, -2.0 × 10(-2) K(-1) at 300 K, allows for efficient IR detection at room temperature by means of the photothermal effect.

The in-plane thermal conductivities of suspended monolayer, bilayer, and multilayer MoS films were measured in vacuum by using non-invasive Raman spectroscopy. The samples were prepared by chemical vapor deposition (CVD) and transferred onto preformed cavities on a Au-coated SiO/Si substrate. The measured thermal conductivity (13.3 ± 1.4 W m K) of the suspended monolayer MoS was below the previously reported value of 34.5 ± 4 W m K. We demonstrate that this discrepancy arises from the experimental conditions that differ from vacuum conditions and small absorbance. The measured in-plane thermal conductivity of the suspended MoS films increased in proportion to the number of layers, reaching 43.4 ± 9.1 W m K for the multilayer MoS, which explicitly follows the Fuchs-Sondheimer suppression function. The increase in the thermal conductivity with the number of MoS layers is explained by the reduced phonon boundary scattering. We also observe that the Fuchs-Sondheimer model works for the thickness-dependent thermal conductivity of MoS down to 10 nm in thickness at room temperature, yielding a phonon mean free path of 17 nm for bulk.

Synthesis of monolayer transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDs) via chemical vapor deposition relies on several factors such as precursor, promoter, substrate, and surface treatment of substrate. Among them, the use of promoter is crucial for obtaining uniform and large-area monolayer TMDs. Although promoters have been speculated to enhance adhesion of precursors to the substrate, their precise role in the growth mechanism has rarely been discussed. Here, we report the role of alkali metal promoter in growing monolayer TMDs. The growth occurred via the formation of sodium metal oxides which prevent the evaporation of metal precursor. Furthermore, the silicon oxide substrate helped to decrease the Gibbs free energy by forming sodium silicon oxide compounds. The resulting sodium metal oxide was anchored within such concavities created by corrosion of silicon oxide. Consequently, the wettability of the precursors to silicon oxide was improved, leading to enhance lateral growth of monolayer TMDs.

Although monolayer transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDs) exhibit superior optical and electrical characteristics, their use in digital switching devices is limited by incomplete understanding of the metal contact. Comparative studies of Au top and edge contacts with monolayer MoS reveal a temperature-dependent ideality factor and Schottky barrier height (SBH). The latter originates from inhomogeneities in MoS caused by defects, charge puddles, and grain boundaries, which cause local variation in the work function at Au-MoS junctions and thus different activation temperatures for thermionic emission. However, the effect of inhomogeneities due to impurities on the SBH varies with the junction structure. The weak Au-MoS interaction in the top contact, which yields a higher SBH and ideality factor, is more affected by inhomogeneities than the strong interaction in the edge contact. Observed differences in the SBH and ideality factor in different junction structures clarify how the SBH and inhomogeneities can be controlled in devices containing TMD materials.

Quantum localization–delocalization of carriers are well described by either carrier–carrier interaction or disorder. When both effects come into play, however, a comprehensive understanding is not well established mainly due to complexity and sparse experimental data. Recently developed two-dimensional layered materials are ideal in describing such mesoscopic critical phenomena as they have both strong interactions and disorder. The transport in the insulating phase is well described by the soft Coulomb gap picture, which demonstrates the contribution of both interactions and disorder. Using this picture, we demonstrate the critical power law behavior of the localization length, supporting quantum criticality. We observe asymmetric critical exponents around the metal-insulator transition through temperature scaling analysis, which originates from poor screening in insulating regime and conversely strong screening in metallic regime due to free carriers. The effect of asymmetric scaling behavior is weakened in monolayer MoS2 due to a dominating disorder.

This study characterizes the effects of incident infrared (IR) radiation on the electrical conductivity of graphene oxide (GO) and examines its potential for mid-IR detection. Analysis of the mildly reduced GO (m-GO) transport mechanism near room temperature reveals variable range hopping (VRH) for the conduction of electrons. This VRH behavior causes the m-GO resistance to exhibit a strong temperature dependence, with a large negative temperature coefficient of resistance of approximately -2 to -4% K(-1). In addition to this hopping transport, the presence of various oxygen-related functional groups within GO enhances the absorption of IR radiation significantly. These two GO material properties are synergically coupled and provoke a remarkable photothermal effect within this material; specifically, a large resistance drop is exhibited by m-GO in response to the increase in temperature caused by the IR absorption. The m-GO bolometer effect identified in this study is different from that exhibited in vanadium oxides, which require added gold-black films that function as IR absorbers owing to their limited IR absorption capability.