Uncovering the Effects of Metal Contacts on Monolayer MoS2

Abstract

Metal contacts are a key limiter to the electronic performance of two-dimensional (2D) semiconductor devices. Here we present a comprehensive study of contact interfaces between seven metals (Y, Sc, Ag, Al, Ti, Au, Ni, with work functions from 3.1 to 5.2 eV) and monolayer MoS2 grown by chemical vapor deposition. We evaporate thin metal films onto MoS2 and study the interfaces by Raman spectroscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction, transmission electron microscopy, and electrical characterization. We uncover that, 1) ultrathin oxidized Al dopes MoS2 n-type (> 2x10^12 1/cm^2) without degrading its mobility, 2) Ag, Au, and Ni deposition causes varying levels of damage to MoS2 (broadening Raman E' peak from <3 1/cm to >6 1/cm), and 3) Ti, Sc, and Y react with MoS2. Reactive metals must be avoided in contacts to monolayer MoS2, but control studies reveal the reaction is mostly limited to the top layer of multilayer films. Finally, we find that 4) thin metals do not significantly strain MoS2, as confirmed by X-ray diffraction. These are important findings for metal contacts to MoS2, and broadly applicable to many other 2D semiconductors.

References in corpus (4)

• Two-dimensional transition metal dichalcogenides under electron irradiation: defect production and doping
• Symmetry-dependent phonon renormalization in monolayer MoS2 transistor
• Improved Contacts to MoS2 Transistors by Ultra-High Vacuum Metal Deposition
• Intrinsic Electrical Transport and Performance Projections of Synthetic Monolayer MoS2 Devices

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