Low sub-threshold swing realization with contacts of graphene/h-BN/MoS2 heterostructures in MoS2 transistors

Abstract

MoS2 and other atomically thin-layered semiconductors have attracted intensive interest for their unique characteristics and have become promising candidates for short-channel transistor devices. In this work, we demonstrate an MoS2 transistor with a graphene/hBN/MoS2 heterostructure contact so as to achieve a low sub-threshold swing (SS) and expand the scope of the drain current with a low SS. By inserting an h-BN tunneling layer between graphene and MoS2, the carrier transport with a tunneling effect across h-BN makes the transistor exhibit a less than 80 mV/dec sub-threshold swing over 4 orders of magnitude of the drain current at room temperature. Meanwhile, the MoS2 transistor achieves a maximum on/off ratio of ∼107, and the heterostructure contact shows fairly good ohmic characteristics. Furthermore, the thickness of the h-BN tunneling layer in the heterostructure is optimized, which is essential for the tunneling current and the performance of an MoS2 transistor. This study of an MoS2 transistor based on a graphene/h-BN/MoS2 heterostructure contact may pave the way for the development of thin-layered semiconductors in low-power electronic applications.