Graphene is very popular because of its many fascinating properties, but its lack of an electronic bandgap has stimulated the search for 2D materials with semiconducting character. Transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDCs), which are semiconductors of the type MX2, where M is a transition metal atom (such as Mo or W) and X is a chalcogen atom (such as S, Se or Te), provide a promising alternative. Because of its robustness, MoS2 is the most studied material in this family. TMDCs exhibit a unique combination of atomic-scale thickness, direct bandgap, strong spin–orbit coupling and favourable electronic and mechanical properties, which make them interesting for fundamental studies and for applications in high-end electronics, spintronics, optoelectronics, energy harvesting, flexible electronics, DNA sequencing and personalized medicine. In this Review, the methods used to synthesize TMDCs are examined and their properties are discussed, with particular attention to their charge density wave, superconductive and topological phases. The use of TMCDs in nanoelectronic devices is also explored, along with strategies to improve charge carrier mobility, high frequency operation and the use of strain engineering to tailor their properties. Two-dimensional transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDCs) exhibit attractive electronic and mechanical properties. In this Review, the charge density wave, superconductive and topological phases of TMCDs are discussed, along with their synthesis and applications in devices with enhanced mobility and with the use of strain engineering to improve their properties.

2D transition metal dichalcogenides

We present the science and technology roadmap for graphene, related two-dimensional crystals, and hybrid systems, targeting an evolution in technology, that might lead to impacts and benefits reaching into most areas of society. This roadmap was developed within the framework of the European Graphene Flagship and outlines the main targets and research areas as best understood at the start of this ambitious project. We provide an overview of the key aspects of graphene and related materials (GRMs), ranging from fundamental research challenges to a variety of applications in a large number of sectors, highlighting the steps necessary to take GRMs from a state of raw potential to a point where they might revolutionize multiple industries. We also define an extensive list of acronyms in an effort to standardize the nomenclature in this emerging field.

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Science and technology roadmap for graphene, related two-dimensional crystals, and hybrid systems

The performance of electronic and optoelectronic devices based on two-dimensional layered crystals, including graphene, semiconductors of the transition metal dichalcogenide family such as molybdenum disulphide (MoS2) and tungsten diselenide (WSe2), as well as other emerging two-dimensional semiconductors such as atomically thin black phosphorus, is significantly affected by the electrical contacts that connect these materials with external circuitry. Here, we present a comprehensive treatment of the physics of such interfaces at the contact region and discuss recent progress towards realizing optimal contacts for two-dimensional materials. We also discuss the requirements that must be fulfilled to realize efficient spin injection in transition metal dichalcogenides.

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Electrical contacts to two-dimensional semiconductors

During the past decade, two-dimensional materials have attracted incredible interest from the electronic device community The first two-dimensional material studied in detail was graphene and, since 2007, it has intensively been explored as a material for electronic devices, in particular, transistors While graphene transistors are still on the agenda, researchers have extended their work to two-dimensional materials beyond graphene and the number of two-dimensional materials under examination has literally exploded recently Meanwhile several hundreds of different two-dimensional materials are known, a substantial part of them is considered useful for transistors, and experimental transistors with channels of different two-dimensional materials have been demonstrated In spite of the rapid progress in the field, the prospects of two-dimensional transistors still remain vague and optimistic opinions face rather reserved assessments The intention of the present paper is to shed more light on the merits and drawbacks of two-dimensional materials for transistor electronics and to add a few more facets to the ongoing discussion on the prospects of two-dimensional transistors To this end, we compose a wish list of properties for a good transistor channel material and examine to what extent the two-dimensional materials fulfill the criteria of the list The state-of-the-art two-dimensional transistors are reviewed and a balanced view of both the pros and cons of these devices is provided

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Two-dimensional materials and their prospects in transistor electronics

ConspectusAtomic crystals of two-dimensional materials consisting of single sheets extracted from layered materials are gaining increasing attention. The most well-known material from this group is graphene, a single layer of graphite that can be extracted from the bulk material or grown on a suitable substrate. Its discovery has given rise to intense research effort culminating in the 2010 Nobel Prize in physics awarded to Andre Geim and Konstantin Novoselov. Graphene however represents only the proverbial tip of the iceberg, and increasing attention of researchers is now turning towards the veritable zoo of so-called “other 2D materials”. They have properties complementary to graphene, which in its pristine form lacks a bandgap: MoS2, for example, is a semiconductor, while NbSe2 is a superconductor. They could hold the key to important practical applications and new scientific discoveries in the two-dimensional limit. This family of materials has been studied since the 1960s, but most of the research fo...

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Single-layer MoS2 electronics.

The presence of a direct band gap 1−4 and an ultrathin form factor 5 has caused a considerable interest in two-dimensional (2D) semiconductors from the transition metal dichalcogenides (TMD) family with molybdenum disulfide (MoS2) being the most studied representative of this family of materials. While diverse electronic elements, 6,7 logic circuits, 8,9 and optoelectronic devices 12,13 have been demonstrated using ultrathin MoS2, very little is known about their performance at high frequencies where commercial devices are expected to function. Here, we report on top-gated MoS2 transistors operating in the gigahertz range of frequencies. Our devices show cutoff frequencies reaching 6 GHz. The presence of a band gap also gives rise to current saturation, 10 allowing power and voltage gain, all in the gigahertz range. This shows that MoS2 could be an interesting material for realizing high-speed amplifiers and logic circuits with device scaling expected to result in further improvement of performance. Our work represents the first step in the realization of high-frequency analog and digital circuits based on 2D semiconductors.

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MoS2 transistors operating at gigahertz frequencies.

The relationship between the polycrystalline nature of phase change materials (such as Ge2Sb2Te5) and the intermediate resistance states of phase change memory (PCM) devices has not been widely studied. A full understanding of such states will require knowledge of how polycrystalline grains form, how they interact with each other at various temperatures, and how the differing electrical (and thermal) characteristics within the grains and at their boundaries combine through percolation to produce the externally observed electrical (and thermal) characteristics of a PCM device. We address the first of these tasks (and introduce a vehicle for the second) by studying the formation of fcc polycrystalline grains from the as-deposited amorphous state in undoped Ge2Sb2Te5. We perform ex situ transmission electron microscopy membrane experiments and then match these observations against numerical simulation. Ramped-anneal experiments show that the temperature ramp-rate strongly influences the median grain size. By truncating such ramped-anneal experiments at various peak temperatures, we convincingly demonstrate that the temperature range over which these grains are established is quite narrow. Subsequent annealing at elevated temperature appears to change these established distributions of grain sizes only slightly. Our numerical simulator—which models nuclei formation through classical nucleation theory and then tracks the subsequent time- and temperature-dependent growth of these grains—can match these experimental observations of initial grain distributions and crystallization temperature both qualitatively and quantitatively. These simulations show that the particular narrow temperature range over which crystallization occurs shifts as a function of temperature ramp-rate, which allows us to quantify the lower portions of the time-temperature-transformation map for Ge2Sb2Te5. Future experiments and extensions of the simulator to investigate temperature-dependent interactions between neighboring grains, and to study nucleation from within the melt-quenched amorphous state, are discussed.

Observation and modeling of polycrystalline grain formation in Ge2Sb2Te5

The interest in MoS2 for radio-frequency (RF) application has recently increased. However, little is known on the scaling behavior of transistors made from MoS2 for RF applications, which is important for establishing performance limits for electronic circuits based on 2D semiconductors on flexible and rigid substrates. Here, we present a systematic study of top-gated trilayer MoS2 RF transistors with gate lengths scaled down to 70 and 40 nm. In addition, by introducing edge-contacted injection of electrons in trilayer MoS2 devices, we decrease the contact resistance and as a result obtain the highest cutoff frequency of 6 GHz before the de-embedding procedure and 25 GHz after the de-embedding procedure.

High-frequency, scaled MoS2 transistors

Resist-assisted assembly of single-walled carbon nanotube devices with nanoscale precision

The interest in MoS2 for radio-frequency (RF) application has recently increased1'2. However, little is known on the scaling behavior of transistors made from MoS2 for RF applications, which is important for establishing performance limits for electronic circuits based on 2D semiconductors on flexible and rigid substrates. Here, we present a systematic study of top-gated trilayer MoS2 RF transistors with gate lengths scaled down to 70 and 40 nm. In addition, by introducing "edge-contacted" injection of electrons3 in trilayer MoS2 devices, we decrease the contact resistance and as a result obtain the highest cutoff frequency of 6 GHz before the de-embedding procedure and 25 GHz after the de-embedding procedure.

Clemens Nyffeler

Papers

MoS2 transistors operating at gigahertz frequencies.

Observation and modeling of polycrystalline grain formation in Ge2Sb2Te5

High-frequency, scaled MoS2 transistors

Resist-assisted assembly of single-walled carbon nanotube devices with nanoscale precision

High-frequency, scaled MoS2 transistors