Disorder engineering and conductivity dome in ReS2 with electrolyte gating.

Atomically thin rhenium disulphide (ReS2) is a member of the transition metal dichalcogenide family of materials. This two-dimensional semiconductor is characterized by weak interlayer coupling and a distorted 1T structure, which leads to anisotropy in electrical and optical properties. Here we report on the electrical transport study of mono- and multilayer ReS2 with polymer electrolyte gating.

Electrical contacts to two-dimensional semiconductors.

The performance of electronic and optoelectronic devices based on two-dimensional layered crystals, including graphene, semiconductors of the transition metal dichalcogenide family such as molybdenum disulphide (MoS2) and tungsten diselenide (WSe2), as well as other emerging two-dimensional semiconductors such as atomically thin black phosphorus, is significantly affected by the electrical contacts that connect these materials with external circuitry. Here, we present a comprehensive treatment of the physics of such interfaces at the contact region and discuss recent progress towards realizing optimal contacts for two-dimensional materials. We also discuss the requirements that must be fulfilled to realize efficient spin injection in transition metal dichalcogenides.

Piezoresistivity and Strain-induced Band Gap Tuning in Atomically Thin MoS2.

Continuous tuning of material properties is highly desirable for a wide range of applications, with strain engineering being an interesting way of achieving it. The tuning range, however, is limited in conventional bulk materials that can suffer from plasticity and low fracture limit due to the presence of defects and dislocations. Atomically thin membranes such as MoS2 on the other hand exhibit high Young's modulus and fracture strength, which makes them viable candidates for modifying their properties via strain.

Optically active quantum dots in monolayer WSe2.

Semiconductor quantum dots have emerged as promising candidates for the implementation of quantum information processing, because they allow for a quantum interface between stationary spin qubits and propagating single photons. In the meantime, transition-metal dichalcogenide monolayers have moved to the forefront of solid-state research due to their unique band structure featuring a large bandgap with degenerate valleys and non-zero Berry curvature. Here, we report the observation of zero-dimensional anharmonic quantum emitters, which we refer to as quantum dots, in monolayer tungsten diselenide, with an energy that is 20-100 meV lower than that of two-dimensional excitons.

Thickness-dependent mobility in two-dimensional MoS₂ transistors.

Two-dimensional (2D) semiconductors such as mono and few-layer molybdenum disulphide (MoS2) are very promising for integration in future electronics as they represent the ultimate miniaturization limit in the vertical direction. While monolayer MoS2 attracted considerable attention due to its broken inversion symmetry, spin/valley coupling and the presence of a direct band gap, few-layer MoS2 remains a viable option for technological application where its higher mobility and lower contact resistance are believed to offer an advantage. However, it remains unclear whether multilayers are intrinsically superior or if they are less affected by environmental effects.

Electrical transport properties of single-layer WS2.

We report on the fabrication of field-effect transistors based on single layers and bilayers of the semiconductor WS2 and the investigation of their electronic transport properties. We find that the doping level strongly depends on the device environment and that long in situ annealing drastically improves the contact transparency, allowing four-terminal measurements to be performed and the pristine properties of the material to be recovered. Our devices show n-type behavior with a high room-temperature on/off current ratio of ∼10(6).

Electron and hole mobilities in single-layer WSe2.

Single-layer transition metal dichalcogenide WSe2 has recently attracted a lot of attention because it is a 2D semiconductor with a direct band gap. Due to low doping levels, it is intrinsic and shows ambipolar transport. This opens up the possibility to realize devices with the Fermi level located in the valence band, where the spin/valley coupling is strong and leads to new and interesting physics.

Electrical control of the superconducting-to-insulating transition in graphene-metal hybrids.

Graphene is a sturdy and chemically inert material exhibiting an exposed two-dimensional electron gas of high mobility. These combined properties enable the design of graphene composites, based either on covalent or non-covalent coupling of adsorbates, or on stacked and multilayered heterostructures. These systems have shown tunable electronic properties such as bandgap engineering, reversible metal-insulating transition or supramolecular spintronics.

Probing thermal expansion of graphene and modal dispersion at low-temperature using graphene nanoelectromechanical systems resonators.

We use suspended graphene electromechanical resonators to study the variation of resonant frequency as a function of temperature. Measuring the change in frequency resulting from a change in tension, from 300 to 30 K, allows us to extract information about the thermal expansion of monolayer graphene as a function of temperature, which is critical for strain engineering applications. We find that thermal expansion of graphene is negative for all temperatures between 300 and 30 K.