Discovery of dynamic nature of 0D potential wells and potential walls in 2D TMD device systems
Source abstract
Abstract
Abstract Zero-dimensional potential wells and potential walls exist in nanoscale devices, trapping, scattering or blocking charge carriers. Measuring these quantum perturbations during normal operation is notoriously difficult. We address this challenge using trap-emission currents in multilayer Cr-MoSe 2 -Pd devices and interpreting them with density-functional-theory simulations. Sulfur passivation removes electron traps while hole transport remains unchanged, confirming hole capture originates from valence-band offsets at metal/TMD interfaces. When a 70 kV/cm lateral field is applied, tensile strain forms in the channel, lowering electron-trap activation energies and reconfiguring electron-trapping centers, yet hole traps remain stable. By separating defect-governed trapping in the channel from energy-barrier trapping at contacts, we deliver a comprehensive framework for mapping perturbations in low-dimensional electronic landscapes due to realistic operation. This methodology enables targeted passivation and strain engineering to build quantum-confined devices whose carrier dynamics-and therefore performance-remain predictable and robust across operating conditions and material systems, advancing technologies and applications.
Source: crossref · Quality: baseline
Research context
OpenAlex topics: 2D Materials and Applications · Electronic and Structural Properties of Oxides · Graphene research and applications
SciVX discovery tags are terminology-based. OpenAlex topics are source-provided classifications.
References (51)
Show source-provided references
1. IEEE International Roadmap for Devices and Systems, “Beyond CMOS and Emerging Materials Integration.” Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers https://doi.org/10.60627/0p45-zj55 (2023).10.60627/0p45-zj55 ↗
2. Dorow, C. J. et al. Gate length scaling beyond Si: Mono-layer 2D Channel FETs Robust to Short Channel Effects. In Technical Digest - International Electron Devices Meeting, IEDM vols 2022-December 751–754 (Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Inc., 2022).10.1109/IEDM45625.2022.10019524 ↗
3. Chung, Y. Y. et al. First Demonstration of GAA Monolayer-MoS2 Nanosheet nFET with 410μA μ m ID 1V VD at 40nm gate length. In Technical Digest - International Electron Devices Meeting, IEDM vols 2022-December 3451–3454 (Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Inc., 2022).10.1109/IEDM45625.2022.10019563 ↗
4. Xiong, X. et al. Demonstration of Vertically-stacked CVD Monolayer Channels: MoS2 Nanosheets GAA-FET with Ion>700 µa/µm and MoS2/WSe2 CFET. In Technical Digest - International Electron Devices Meeting, IEDM vols 2021-December 7.5.1-7.5.4 (Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Inc., 2021).10.1109/IEDM19574.2021.9720533 ↗
5. Sebastian, A., Pendurthi, R., Choudhury, T. H., Redwing, J. M. & Das, S. Benchmarking monolayer MoS2 and WS2 field-effect transistors. Nat. Commun. 12, 693 (2021).10.1038/s41467-020-20732-w ↗
6. Shrivastava, M. & Ramgopal Rao, V. A roadmap for disruptive applications and heterogeneous integration using two-dimensional materials: State-of-the-art and technological challenges. Nano Lett. 21, 6359–6381 (2021).10.1021/acs.nanolett.1c00729 ↗
7. Ghosh, S. et al. Monolithic and heterogeneous three-dimensional integration of two-dimensional materials with high-density vias. Nat. Electron 7, 892–903 (2024).10.1038/s41928-024-01251-8 ↗
8. Pendurthi, R. et al. Monolithic three-dimensional integration of complementary two-dimensional field-effect transistors. Nat. Nanotechnol. 19, 970–977 (2024).10.1038/s41565-024-01705-2 ↗
9. Kumar, J. & Shrivastava, M. Role of chalcogen defect introducing metal-induced gap states and its implications for metal-TMDs’ interface chemistry. ACS Omega 8, 10176–10184 (2023).10.1021/acsomega.2c07489 ↗
10. Gong, M. et al. Unraveling the role of interfacial interactions in electrical contacts of atomically thin transition-metal dichalcogenides. ACS Nano 19, 4718–4730 (2025).10.1021/acsnano.4c15341 ↗
11. Wang, Y. & Chhowalla, M. Making clean electrical contacts on 2D transition metal dichalcogenides. Nat. Rev. Phys. 4, 101–112 (2021).10.1038/s42254-021-00389-0 ↗
12. Doherty, J. L., Noyce, S. G., Cheng, Z., Abuzaid, H. & Franklin, A. D. Capping layers to improve the electrical stress stability of MoS2 transistors. ACS Appl Mater. Interfaces 12, 35698–35706 (2020).10.1021/acsami.0c08647 ↗
13. Peña, T. et al. Strain engineering 2D MoS2 with thin film stress capping layers. 2d Mater 8, 045001 (2021).10.1088/2053-1583/ac08f2 ↗
14. Hoang, L. et al. Understanding the Impact of Contact-Induced Strain on the Electrical Performance of Monolayer WS2 Transistors. Nano Lett. https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.nanolett.4c02616 (2024).10.1021/acs.nanolett.4c02616 ↗
15. Gupta, A., Kumar, J., Sheoran, G. & Shrivastava, M. Electrothermal transport induced material reconfiguration and performance degradation of CVD-grown monolayer MoS2 transistors. NPJ 2D Mater. Appl. 4, 37 (2020).10.1038/s41699-020-00171-3 ↗
16. Patbhaje, U., Verma, R., Kumar, J., Ansh & Shrivastava, M. Unveiling field driven performance unreliabilities governed by channel dynamics in MoSe2FETs. In IEEE International Reliability Physics Symposium Proceedings vols 2023-March (Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Inc., 2023).10.1109/IRPS48203.2023.10117743 ↗
17. Patbhaje, U., Verma, R., Kumar, J., Dar, A. B. & Shrivastava, M. Decoupling current and voltage mediated breakdown mechanisms in CVD MoS2 FETs. In IEEE International Reliability Physics Symposium Proceedings (Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Inc., 2024). https://doi.org/10.1109/IRPS48228.2024.10529415.10.1109/IRPS48228.2024.10529415 ↗
18. Schoenaers, B. et al. Analysis of transferred MoS2 layers grown by MOCVD: Evidence of Mo vacancy related defect formation. ECS J. Solid State Sci. Technol. 9, 093001 (2020).10.1149/2162-8777/ab8363 ↗
19. Zhou, W. et al. Intrinsic structural defects in monolayer molybdenum disulfide. Nano Lett. 13, 2615–2622 (2013).10.1021/nl4007479 ↗
20. Roccapriore, K. M. et al. Probing electron beam induced transformations on a single-defect level via automated scanning transmission electron microscopy. ACS Nano 16, 17116–17127 (2022).10.1021/acsnano.2c07451 ↗
21. Jeong, T. Y. et al. Spectroscopic studies of atomic defects and bandgap renormalization in semiconducting monolayer transition metal dichalcogenides. Nat. Commun. 10, 3825 (2019).10.1038/s41467-019-11751-3 ↗
22. Jaegermann, W. & Schmeisser, D. Reactivity of layer type transition metal chalcogenides towards oxidation. Surf. Sci. 165, 143–160 (1986).10.1016/0039-6028(86)90666-7 ↗
23. Jeong, B. G. et al. Correlation of defect-induced photoluminescence and Raman scattering in monolayer WS2. J. Phys. Chem. C. 126, 7177–7183 (2022).10.1021/acs.jpcc.2c01264 ↗
24. Verhagen, T., Guerra, V. L. P., Haider, G., Kalbac, M. & Vejpravova, J. Towards the evaluation of defects in MoS2 using cryogenic photoluminescence spectroscopy. Nanoscale 12, 3019–3028 (2020).10.1039/C9NR07246B ↗
25. Kim, J. Y. et al. Experimental and theoretical studies of native deep-level defects in transition metal dichalcogenides. NPJ 2D Mater. Appl 6, 75 (2022).10.1038/s41699-022-00350-4 ↗
26. Zhao, Y. et al. Electrical spectroscopy of defect states and their hybridization in monolayer MoS2. Nat Commun 14, 44 (2023).10.1038/s41467-022-35651-1 ↗
27. Ghosh, R. et al. Theoretical insights into the impact of border and interface traps on hysteresis in monolayer MoS2 FETs. Microelectron Eng 112333 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.mee.2025.112333 (2025).10.1016/j.mee.2025.112333 ↗
28. John, J. W., Mishra, A., Debbarma, R., Verzhbitskiy, I. & Goh, K. E. J. Probing charge traps at the 2D semiconductor/dielectric interface. Nanoscale 15, 16818–16835 (2023).10.1039/D3NR03453D ↗
29. Borsuk, J. A. & Swanson, R. M. Current transient spectroscopy: A high-sensitivity DLTS system. IEEE Trans. Electron Devices 27, 2217–2225 (1980).10.1109/T-ED.1980.20255 ↗
30. Lang, D. V. Deep-level transient spectroscopy: A new method to characterize traps in semiconductors. J. Appl Phys. 45, 3023–3032 (1974).10.1063/1.1663719 ↗
31. Gelczuk, Ł. et al. Probing Defects in MoS2 Van der Waals Crystal through Deep-Level Transient Spectroscopy. Physica Status Solidi - Rapid Res. Lett. 14, 2000381 (2020).10.1002/pssr.202000381 ↗
32. Patbhaje, U., Verma, R., Kumar, J., Ansh, A. & Shrivastava, M. Unveiling inverse piezoelectricity and field induced nonvolatile strain in 2D TMDs. NPJ 2D Mater. Appl. 9, 71 (2025).10.1038/s41699-025-00564-2 ↗
33. Duerloo, K. A. N., Ong, M. T. & Reed, E. J. Intrinsic piezoelectricity in two-dimensional materials. J. Phys. Chem. Lett. 3, 2871–2876 (2012).10.1021/jz3012436 ↗
34. Blonsky, M. N., Zhuang, H. L., Singh, A. K. & Hennig, R. G. Ab initio prediction of piezoelectricity in two-dimensional materials. ACS Nano 9, 9885–9891 (2015).10.1021/acsnano.5b03394 ↗
35. Illarionov, Y. et al. Insulators for 2D nanoelectronics: The gap to bridge. Nat. Commun. 11, 3385 (2020).10.1038/s41467-020-16640-8 ↗
36. Zhao, P. et al. Evaluation of border traps and interface traps in HfO2/MoS2 gate stacks by capacitance-voltage analysis. 2d Mater 5, 031002 (2018).10.1088/2053-1583/aab728 ↗
37. Khan, M., Kedia, S. K., Mishra, A., Avasthi, D. K. & Tripathi, A. Investigation of the annealing temperature for few-layer MoS2 and ion-beam induced athermal annealing/purification behaviour by in-situ XRD. Appl Surf. Sci. 639, 158106 (2023).10.1016/j.apsusc.2023.158106 ↗
38. Zheng, W. et al. The origin and mitigation of defects induced by metal evaporation in 2D materials. Mater. Sci. Eng. R: Rep. 160, 100831 (2024).10.1016/j.mser.2024.100831 ↗
39. Ruch, B., Jech, M., Pobegen, G. & Grasser, T. Applicability of shockley-read-hall theory for interface states. IEEE Trans. Electron Devices 68, 2092–2097 (2021).10.1109/TED.2021.3049760 ↗
40. Stampfer, P., Roger, F., Cvitkovich, L., Grasser, T. & Waltl, M. A DLTS study on deep trench processing-induced trap states in silicon photodiodes. IEEE Trans. Device Mater. Reliab. 24, 161–167 (2024).10.1109/TDMR.2024.3382396 ↗
41. Kavanagh, S. R., Scanlon, D. O., Walsh, A. & Freysoldt, C. Impact of metastable defect structures on carrier recombination in solar cells. Faraday Discuss 239, 339–356 (2022).10.1039/D2FD00043A ↗
42. Doratotaj, D., Simpson, J. R. & Yan, J. A. Probing the uniaxial strains in MoS2 using polarized Raman spectroscopy: A first-principles study. Phys. Rev. B 93, 075401 (2016).10.1103/PhysRevB.93.075401 ↗
43. Ng, L. R., Chen, G. F. & Lin, S. H. Generating large out-of-plane piezoelectric properties of atomically thin MoS2 via defect engineering. Phys. Chem. Chem. Phys. 23, 23945–23952 (2021).10.1039/D1CP02976B ↗
44. Conley, H. J. et al. Bandgap engineering of strained monolayer and bilayer MoS2. https://doi.org/10.1021/nl4014748 (2013).10.1021/nl4014748 ↗
45. Deng, S., Li, L. & Li, M. Stability of direct band gap under mechanical strains for monolayer MoS2, MoSe2, WS2 and WSe2. Phys. E Low. Dimens Syst. Nanostruct. 101, 44–49 (2018).10.1016/j.physe.2018.03.016 ↗
46. Dreyer, C. E., Alkauskas, A., Lyons, J. L., Janotti, A. & Van De Walle, C. G. First-principles calculations of point defects for quantum technologies. Ann. Rev. Mater. Res. 48, 1–26 (2018).10.1146/annurev-matsci-070317-124453 ↗
47. Ansh et al. Chalcogen-assisted enhanced atomic orbital interaction at TMD-metal interface and sulfur passivation for overall performance boost of 2-D TMD FETs. IEEE Trans. Electron Devices 67, 717–724 (2020).10.1109/TED.2019.2958338 ↗
48. Smidstrup, S. et al. QuantumATK: An integrated platform of electronic and atomic-scale modelling tools. J. Phys. Condensed Matter 32, 015901 (2020).10.1088/1361-648X/ab4007 ↗
49. Momma, K. & Izumi, F. VESTA 3 for three-dimensional visualization of crystal, volumetric and morphology data. J. Appl Crystallogr 44, 1272–1276 (2011).10.1107/S0021889811038970 ↗
50. van Setten, M. J. et al. The PSEUDODOJO: Training and grading a 85 element optimized norm-conserving pseudopotential table. Comput Phys. Commun. 226, 39–54 (2018).10.1016/j.cpc.2018.01.012 ↗
51. Perdew, J. P., Burke, K. & Ernzerhof, M. Generalized Gradient Approximation Made Simple (1996).10.1103/PhysRevLett.77.3865 ↗