Issue 35, 2020

Two-dimensional electronic devices modulated by the activation of donor-like states in boron nitride

Abstract

A two-dimensional (2D) layered material-based p–n diode is an essential element in the modern semiconductor industry for facilitating the miniaturization and structural flexibility of devices with high efficiency for future optoelectronic and electronic applications. Planar devices constructed previously required a complicated device structure using a photoresist, as they needed to consider non-abrupt interfaces. Here, we demonstrated a WSe2 based lateral homojunction diode obtained by applying a photo-induced effect in BN/WSe2 heterostructures upon illumination via visible and deep UV light, which represents a stable and flexible charge doping technique. We have discovered that with this technique, a field-effect transistor (FET) based on p-type WSe2 is inverted to n-WSe2 so that a high electron mobility is maintained in the h-BN/n-WSe2 heterostructures. To confirm this hypothesis, we deduced the work function values of p-WSe2 and n-WSe2 FETs by conducting Kelvin probe force microscopy (KPFM) measurements, which revealed the decline of the Fermi level from 5.07 (p-WSe2) to 4.21 eV (n-WSe2). The contact potential difference (CPD) between doped and undoped junctions was found to be 165 meV. We employed ohmic metal contacts for the planar homojunction diode by utilizing an ionic liquid gate to achieve a diode rectification ratio up to ∼105 with n = 1. An exceptional photovoltaic performance is also observed. The presence of a built-in potential in our devices leads to an open-circuit voltage (Voc) and short-circuit current (Isc) without an external electric field. This effective doping technique is promising to advance the concept of preparing future functional devices.

Graphical abstract: Two-dimensional electronic devices modulated by the activation of donor-like states in boron nitride

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Paper
Submitted
08 jan 2020
Accepted
25 jan 2020
First published
28 jan 2020

Nanoscale, 2020,12, 18171-18179

Two-dimensional electronic devices modulated by the activation of donor-like states in boron nitride

S. Aftab, Samiya, M. W. Iqbal, P. A. Shinde, A. U. Rehman, S. Yousuf, S. Park and S. C. Jun, Nanoscale, 2020, 12, 18171 DOI: 10.1039/D0NR00231C

To request permission to reproduce material from this article, please go to the Copyright Clearance Center request page.

If you are an author contributing to an RSC publication, you do not need to request permission provided correct acknowledgement is given.

If you are the author of this article, you do not need to request permission to reproduce figures and diagrams provided correct acknowledgement is given. If you want to reproduce the whole article in a third-party publication (excluding your thesis/dissertation for which permission is not required) please go to the Copyright Clearance Center request page.

Read more about how to correctly acknowledge RSC content.

Social activity

Spotlight

Advertisements