Strain engineering of Schottky barriers in single- and few-layer MoS2 vertical devices

TL;DR

This study investigates how local strain influences the electronic transport and Schottky barrier properties in vertical MoS2-based devices, demonstrating tunable rectification and stability through mechanical load application.

Contribution

It introduces a method to control Schottky barriers in MoS2 devices via local strain using atomic force microscopy, providing quantitative analysis and stability testing.

Findings

Rectification ratios depend on applied load

Double Schottky barrier model fits experimental data

Structures serve as mechanically tunable rectifiers

Abstract

We study the effect of local strain in the electronic transport properties of vertical metal-atomically thin MoS2-metal structures. We use a conductive atomic force microscope tip to apply different load forces to monolayer and few-layer MoS2 crystals deposited onto a conductive indium tin oxide (ITO) substrate while measuring simultaneously the I-V characteristics of the vertical tip/MoS2/ITO structures. The structures show rectifying I-V characteristics, with rectification ratios strongly dependent on the applied load. To understand these results, we compare the experimental I-Vs with a double Schottky barrier model, which is in good agreement with our experimental results and allows us to extract quantitative information about the electronic properties of the tip/MoS2/ITO structures and their dependence on the applied load. Finally, we test the stability of the studied structures using them as mechanically tunable current rectifiers.