Layer Dependent Interfacial Transport and Optoelectrical Properties of MoS2 on Ultra-flat Metals

TL;DR

This study investigates how the number of layers in MoS2 affects its interfacial transport and optoelectronic properties when interfaced with ultra-flat metals, revealing layer-dependent barrier heights and negative photoconductivity.

Contribution

It provides the first detailed analysis of layer-dependent electronic and optoelectronic properties of MoS2 on ultra-flat metal surfaces using CAFM and DFT, filling a key knowledge gap.

Findings

Barrier height decreases with increasing layers.

Current increases with layer number up to 5 layers.

Negative photoconductivity observed under illumination.

Abstract

Transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDs) are layered semiconducting van der Waal crystals and promising materials for a wide range of electronic and optoelectronic devices. Realizing practical electrical and optoelectronic device applications requires a connection between a metal junction and a TMD semiconductor. Hence, a complete understanding of electronic band alignments and the potential barrier heights governing the transport through a metal-TMD-metal junction is critical. But, there is a knowledge gap; it is not clear how the energy bands of a TMD align while in contact with a metal as a function of the number of layers. In pursuit of removing this knowledge gap, we have performed conductive atomic force microscopy (CAFM) of few layered (1-5) MoS2 immobilized on ultra-flat conducting Au surfaces (root mean square (RMS) surface roughness <0.2 nm) and indium tin oxide (ITO) substrate (RMS surface roughness <0.7 nm) forming a vertical metal (conductive-AFM tip)-semiconductor-metal device. We have observed that the current increases as the number of layers increases up to 5 layers. By applying Fowler-Nordheim tunneling theory, we have determined the barrier heights for different layers and observed that the barrier height decreases as the number of layers increases. Using density functional theory (DFT) calculation, we successfully demonstrated that the barrier height decreases as the layer number increases. By illuminating the TMDs on a transparent ultra-flat conducting ITO substrate, we observed a reduction in current when compared to the current measured in the dark, hence demonstrating negative photoconductivity. Our study provides a fundamental understanding of the local electronic and optoelectronic behaviors of TMD-metal junction, and may pave an avenue toward developing nanoscale electronic devices with tailored layer-dependent transport properties.