Charge Transport in Field-Effect Transistors based on Layered Materials and their Heterostructures

Abstract

In the quest for energy efficiency and device miniaturization, the research in using atomically thin materials for device applications is gaining momentum. The electronic network in layered materials is different from 3D counterparts. It is due to the interlayer couplings and density of states because of their 2D nature. Therefore, understanding the charge transport in layered materials is fundamental to explore the vast opportunities these ultra-thin materials offer. Hence, the challenges targeted in the thesis are: (1) understanding the charge transport in layered materials based on electronic network of quantum and oxide capacitances, (2) studying thickness dependence, ranging from monolayer to bulk, of full range-characteristics of field-effect transistor (FET) based on layered materials, (3) investigating the total interface trap charges to achieve the ultimate subthreshold slope (SS) theoretically possible in FETs, (4) understanding the effect of the channel length on the performance of layered materials, (5) understanding the effect of substrate on performance of the TMDC FETs and studying if the interface of transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDCs)/hexagonalboron nitride (h-BN) can have less enough trap charges to observe ambipolar behavior, (6) Exploring optoelectronic properties in 2D heterostructures that includes understanding graphene/WS2 heterostructure and its optoelectronic applications by creating a p-n junction at the interface. The quality of materials and the interface are the issues for observing and extracting clean physics out of these layered materials and heterostructures. In this dissertation, we realized the use of quantum capacitance in layered materials, substrate effects and carrier transport in heterostructure.