Integration of Ultrathin Hafnium Oxide with a Clean van der Waals Interface for Two-Dimensional Sandwich Heterostructure Electronics

Abstract

Integrating high-κ dielectrics with a small equivalent oxide thickness (EOT) with two-dimensional (2D) semiconductors for low-power consumption van der Waals (vdW) heterostructure electronics remains challenging in meeting both interface quality and dielectric property requirements. Here, we demonstrate the integration of ultrathin amorphous HfO x sandwiched within vdW heterostructures by the selective thermal oxidation of HfSe 2 precursors. The self-cleaning process ensures a highquality interface with a low interface state density of 10 11 −10 12 cm −2 eV −1 . The synthesized HfO x displays excellent dielectric properties with an EOT of ∼1.5 nm, i.e., a high κ of ∼16, an ultralow leakage current of 10 −6 A/cm 2 , and an impressively high breakdown field of 9.5 MV/cm. This facilitates lowpower consumption vdW heterostructure MoS 2 transistors, demonstrating steep switching with a low subthreshold swing of 61 mV/ decade. This one-step integration of high-κ dielectrics into vdW sandwich heterostructures holds immense potential for developing low-power consumption 2D electronics while meeting comprehensive dielectric requirements.