Spatially controlled doping of two-dimensional SnS through intercalation for electronics.

Doped semiconductors are the most important building elements for modern electronic devices . In silicon-based integrated circuits, facile and controllable fabrication and integration of these materials can be realized without introducing a high-resistance interface. Besides, the emergence of two-dimensional (2D) materials enables the realization of atomically thin integrated circuits. However, the 2D nature of these materials precludes the use of traditional ion implantation techniques for carrier doping and further hinders device development . Here, we demonstrate a solvent-based intercalation method to achieve p-type, n-type and degenerately doped semiconductors in the same parent material at the atomically thin limit. In contrast to naturally grown n-type S-vacancy SnS, Cu intercalated bilayer SnS obtained by this technique displays a hole field-effect mobility of ~40 cm Vs, and the obtained Co-SnS exhibits a metal-like behaviour with sheet resistance comparable to that of few-layer graphene . Combining this intercalation technique with lithography, an atomically seamless p-n-metal junction could be further realized with precise size and spatial control, which makes in-plane heterostructures practically applicable for integrated devices and other 2D materials. Therefore, the presented intercalation method can open a new avenue connecting the previously disparate worlds of integrated circuits and atomically thin materials.