Interlayer resistance of misoriented MoS2

Abstract

Interlayer misorientation in transition metal dichalcogenides alters their interlayer distance, total energy, electronic band structure, and vibrational modes, but its effect on the interlayer resistance is not known. This study analyzes the interlayer resistance of misoriented bilayer MoS₂ as a function of the misorientation angle, and it shows that interlayer misorientation exponentially increases the electron resistivity while leaving the hole resistivity almost unchanged. The physics, determined by the wave functions at the high symmetry points, are generic among the popular semiconducting transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDs). The asymmetrical effect of misorientation on the electron and hole transport may be exploited in the design and optimization of vertical transport devices such as a bipolar transistor. Density functional theory provides the interlayer coupling elements used for the resistivity calculations.