Nb$_{2}$SiTe$_{4}$: A Stable Narrow-Gap Two-Dimensional Material with Ambipolar Transport and Mid-Infrared Response

TL;DR

This paper reports Nb$_{2}$SiTe$_{4}$ as a stable 2D material with a narrow band gap, enabling ambipolar transistors and mid-infrared detection with high mobility and responsivity.

Contribution

It introduces Nb$_{2}$SiTe$_{4}$ as a new stable 2D material with suitable band gap for ambipolar transport and MIR applications, which was not previously known.

Findings

Nb$_{2}$SiTe$_{4}$ has a band gap of 0.39 eV.

Devices show ambipolar transport with high mobility (~100 cm$^{2}$/V·s).

MIR detection with high responsivity (~0.66 AW$^{-1}$) at 3.1 μm.

Abstract

Two-dimensional (2D) materials with narrow band gaps (~0.3 eV) are of great importance for realizing ambipolar transistors and mid-infrared (MIR) detection. However, most of the 2D materials studied so far have band gaps that are too large. A few of them with suitable band gaps are not stable under ambient conditions. In this study, the layered Nb$_{2}$SiTe$_{4}$ is shown to be a stable 2D material with a band gap of 0.39 eV. Field-effect transistors based on few-layer Nb$_2$SiTe$_4$ show ambipolar transport with similar magnitude of electron and hole current and high charge-carrier mobility of ~ 100 cm$^{2}$V$^{-1}$s$^{-1}$ at room temperature. Optoelectronic measurements of the devices show clear response to MIR wavelength of 3.1 $\mathrm\mu$m with a high responsivity of ~ 0.66 AW$^{-1}$. These results establish Nb$_{2}$SiTe$_{4}$ as a good candidate for ambipolar devices and MIR detection.