No Arabic abstract
Recent discoveries of the photoresponse of molybdenum disulfide (MoS2) have shown the considerable potential of these two-dimensional transition metal dichalcogenides for optoelectronic applications. Among the various types of photoresponses of MoS2, persistent photoconductivity (PPC) at different levels has been reported. However, a detailed study of the PPC effect and its mechanism in MoS2 is still not available, despite the importance of this effect on the photoresponse of the material. Here, we present a systematic study of the PPC effect in monolayer MoS2 and conclude that the effect can be attributed to random localized potential fluctuations in the devices. Notably, the potential fluctuations originate from extrinsic sources based on the substrate effect of the PPC. Moreover, we point out a correlation between the PPC effect in MoS2 and the percolation transport behavior of MoS2. We demonstrate a unique and efficient means of controlling the PPC effect in monolayer MoS2, which may offer novel functionalities for MoS2-based optoelectronic applications in the future.
Monolayer transition metal dichalcogenides (TMD) have numerous potential applications in ultrathin electronics and photonics. The exposure of TMD based devices to light generates photo-carriers resulting in an enhanced conductivity, which can be effectively used, e.g., in photodetectors. If the photo-enhanced conductivity persists after removal of the irradiation, the effect is known as persistent photoconductivity (PPC). Here we show that ultraviolet light (wavelength = 365 nm) exposure induces an extremely long-living giant PPC (GPPC) in monolayer MoS2 (ML-MoS2) field-effect transistors (FET) with a time constant of ~30 days. Furthermore, this effect leads to a large enhancement of the conductivity up to a factor of 107. In contrast to previous studies in which the origin of the PPC was attributed to extrinsic reasons such as trapped charges in the substrate or adsorbates, we unambiguously show that the GPPC arises mainly from the intrinsic properties of ML-MoS2 such as lattice defects that induce a large amount of localized states in the forbidden gap. This finding is supported by a detailed experimental and theoretical study of the electric transport in TMD based FETs as well as by characterization of ML-MoS2 with scanning tunneling spectroscopy, high-resolution transmission electron microscopy, and photoluminescence measurements. The obtained results provide a basis towards the defect-based engineering of the electronic and optical properties of TMDs for device applications.
We study electrical transport properties in exfoliated molybdenum disulfide (MoS2) back-gated field effect transistors at low drain bias and under different illumination intensities. It is found that photoconductive and photogating effect as well as space charge limited conduction can simultaneously occur. We point out that the photoconductivity increases logarithmically with the light intensity and can persist with a decay time longer than 10^4 s, due to photo-charge trapping at the MoS2/SiO2 interface and in MoS2 defects. The transfer characteristics present hysteresis that is enhanced by illumination. At low drain bias, the devices feature low contact resistance of 1.4 k{Omega}/{mu}m, ON current as high as 1.25 nA/{mu}m, 10^5 ON-OFF ratio, mobility of 1 cm^2/Vs and photoresponsivity R=1 A/W.
Optical excitation typically enhances electrical conduction and low-frequency radiation absorption in semiconductors. We have, however, observed a pronounced transient decrease of conductivity in doped monolayer molybdenum disulfide (MoS2), a two-dimensional (2D) semiconductor, under femtosecond laser excitation. In particular, the conductivity is reduced dramatically down to only 30% of its equilibrium value with high pump fluence. This anomalous phenomenon arises from the strong many-body interactions in the system, where photoexcited electron-hole pairs join the doping-induced charges to form trions, bound states of two electrons and one hole. The resultant increase of the carrier effective mass substantially diminishes the carrier conductivity.
Scattering of charge carriers and flicker noise in electrical transport are the central performance limiting factors in electronic devices, but their microscopic origin in molybdenum disulphide~(MoS$_2$)-based field effect transistors remains poorly understood. Here, we show that both carrier scattering and low-frequency $1/f$ noise in mechanically exfoliated ultra-thin MoS$_2$ layers are determined by the localized trap states located within the MoS$_2$ channel itself. The trap states not only act as Coulomb scattering centers that determine transport in both equilibrium ($eV< k_BT$) and non-equilibrium ($eV>k_BT$) regimes, where $V$ and $T$ are the source drain bias and temperature respectively, but also exchange carriers with the channel to produce the conductivity noise. The internal origin of the trap states was further confirmed by studying noise in MoS$_2$ films deposited on crystalline boron nitride substrates. Possible origin and nature of the trap states is also discussed.
We discuss the high-bias electrical characteristics of back-gated field-effect transistors with CVD-synthesized bilayer MoS2 channel and Ti Schottky contacts. We find 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, we propose a model 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 photo responsivity greater than 2.5 AW-1 under 5 mWcm-2 white-LED light. By comparing two- and four-probe measurements, we demonstrate that the hysteresis and persistent photoconductivity exhibited by the transistor are peculiarities of the MoS2 channel rather than effects of the Ti/MoS2 interface.