Charge Carrier Mobility and Series Resistance Extraction in 2D Field-Effect Transistors: Toward the Universal Technique

2D semiconductor field-effect transistors (2D FETs) have emerged as a promising candidate for beyond-silicon electronics applications. However, its device performance has often been limited by the metal-2D semiconductor contact, and the non-negligible contact resistance (R_SD) not only deteriorates the on-state current but also hinders the direct characterization of the intrinsic properties of 2D semiconductors (e.g., intrinsic charge carrier mobility, μ_int). Therefore, a proper extraction technique that can independently characterize the metal-2D semiconductor contact behavior and the intrinsic properties of a 2D semiconducting layer is highly desired. In this study, a universal yet simple method is developed to accurately extract the critical parameters in 2D FETs, including characteristic temperature (T_o), threshold voltage (V_T), R_SD, and μ_int. The practicability of this method is extensively explored by characterizing the temperature-dependent carrier transport behavior and the strain-induced band structure modification in 2D semiconductors. Technology computer aided design simulation is subsequently employed to verify the precision of R_SD extraction. Furthermore, the universality of the proposed method is validated by successfully implementing the extraction to various 2D semiconductors, including black phosphorus, indium selenide, molybdenum disulfide, rhenium disulfide, and tungsten disulfide with top- and bottom-gated configurations.     

Asymmetric Schottky Contacts in Bilayer MoS2 Field Effect Transistors

The high‐bias electrical characteristics of back‐gated field‐effect transistors with chemical vapor deposition synthesized bilayer MoS₂ channel and Ti Schottky contacts are discussed. It is found that oxidized Ti contacts on MoS₂ form rectifying junctions with ≈0.3 to 0.5 eV Schottky barrier height. To explain the rectifying output characteristics of the transistors, a model is proposed based on two slightly asymmetric back‐to‐back Schottky barriers, where the highest current arises from image force barrier lowering at the electrically forced junction, while the reverse current is due to Schottky‐barrier‐limited injection at the grounded junction. The device achieves a photoresponsivity greater than 2.5 A W^?1 under 5 mW cm^?2 white‐LED light. By comparing two‐ and four‐probe measurements, it is demonstrated that the hysteresis and persistent photoconductivity exhibited by the transistor are peculiarities of the MoS₂ channel rather than effects of the Ti/MoS₂ interface.     

2D Hexagonal Covalent Organic Radical Frameworks as Tunable Correlated Electron Systems

Quantum materials hold huge technological promise but challenge the fundamental understanding of complex electronic interactions in solids. The Mott metal–insulator transition on half-filled lattices is an archetypal demonstration of how quantum states can be driven by electronic correlation. Twisted bilayers of 2D materials provide an experimentally accessible means to probe such transitions, but these seemingly simple systems belie high complexity due to the myriad of possible interactions. Herein, it is shown that electron correlation can be simply tuned in experimentally viable 2D hexagonally ordered covalent organic radical frameworks (2D hex-CORFs) based on single layers of half-filled stable radical nodes. The presented carefully procured theoretical analysis predicts that 2D hex-CORFs can be varied between a correlated antiferromagnetic Mott insulator state and a semimetallic state by modest out-of-plane compressive pressure. This work establishes 2D hex-CORFs as a class of versatile single-layer quantum materials to advance the understanding of low dimensional correlated electronic systems.     

Ballistic electron emission microscopy studies of the temperature dependence of Schottky barrier height distribution in CoSi2/n-Si(1 0 0) diodes formed by solid phase reaction

Ballistic electron emission microscopy (BEEM) and ballistic electron emission spectroscopy have been performed on polycrystalline and epitaxial CoSi₂/n-Si(1 0 0) contacts at temperatures ranging from −144°C to −20°C. The ultra-thin CoSi₂ films (10 nm) were fabricated by solid state reaction of a single layer of Co (3 nm) or a multilayer of Ti (1 nm)/Co (3 nm)/amorphous-Si(1 nm)/Ti (1 nm) with a Si substrate, respectively. The spatial distribution of barrier height over the contact area obeys a Gaussian function at each temperature. The mean barrier height increases almost linearly with decreasing temperature with a coefficient of −0.23±0.02 meV/K for polycrystalline CoSi₂/Si diodes and −0.13±0.03 meV/K for epitaxial diodes. This is approximately equal to one or one-half of the temperature coefficient of the indirect energy gap in Si, respectively. It suggests that the Fermi level is pinned to different band positions of Si. The width of the Gaussian distribution is about 30–40 meV, without clear dependence on the temperature. The results obtained from conventional current–voltage and capacitance–voltage (I–V/C–V) measurements are compared to BEEM results.