An emerging electronic material as one of transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDCs), tungsten disulfide (WS₂) can be exfoliated as an atomically thin layer and can compensate for the drawback of graphene originating from a gapless band structure. A direct bandgap, which is obtainable in single-layer WS₂, is an attractive characteristic for developing optoelectronic devices, as well as field-effect transistors. However, its relatively low mobility and electrical characteristics susceptible to environments remain obstacles for the use of device materials. Here, we demonstrate remarkable improvement in the electrical characteristics of single-layer WS₂field-effect transistor (SL-WS₂FET) using chemical vapor deposition (CVD)-grown hexagonal BN (h-BN). SL-WS₂FET sandwiched between CVD-grown h-BN films shows unprecedented high mobility of 214 cm²/Vs at room temperature. The mobility of a SL-WS₂FET has been found to be 486 cm²/Vs at 5 K. The ON/OFF ratio of output current is ~10⁷at room temperature. Apart from an ideal substrate for WS₂FET, CVD-grown h-BN film also provides a protection layer against unwanted influence by gas environments. The h-BN/SL-WS₂/h-BN sandwich structure offers a way to develop high-quality durable single-layer TMDCs electronic devices.

When spins are injected through graphene layers from a transition metal ferromagnet, high spin polarization can be achieved. When detected by another ferromagnet, the spin-polarized current makes high- and low-resistance states in a ferromagnet/graphene/ferromagnet junction. Here, we report manifest spin valve effects from room temperature to 10 K in junctions comprising NiFe electrodes and an interlayer made of double-layer or single-layer graphene grown by chemical vapor deposition. We have found that the spin valve effect is stronger with double-layer graphene than with single-layer graphene. The ratio of relative magnetoresistance increases from 0.09% at room temperature to 0.14% at 10 K for single-layer graphene and from 0.27% at room temperature to 0.48% at 10 K for double-layer graphene. The spin valve effect is perceived to retain the spin-polarized transport in the vertical direction and the hysteretic nature of magnetoresistance provides the basic functionality of a memory device. We have also found that the junction resistance decreases monotonically as temperature is lowered and the current-voltage characteristics show linear behaviour. These results revealed that a graphene interlayer works not as a tunnel barrier but rather as a conducting thin film between two NiFe electrodes. Open image in new window

This paper reports on high photo responsivity (R_λ ∼ 1913 AW⁻¹) of MoS₂ photodetector by decorating a thin layer of ZnO quantum dots on MoS₂.

Van der Waals (vdW) heterostructures composed of atomically thin two‐dimensional (2D) materials have more potential than conventional metal‐oxide semiconductors because of their tunable bandgaps, and sensitivities. The remarkable features of these amazing vdW heterostructures are leading to multi‐functional logic devices, atomically thin photodetectors, and negative differential resistance (NDR) Esaki diodes. Here, an atomically thin vdW stacking composed of p‐type black arsenic (b‐As) and n‐type tin disulfide (n‐SnS₂) to build a type‐III (broken gap) heterojunction is introduced, leading to a negative differential resistance device. Charge transport through the NDR device is investigated under electrostatic gating to achieve a high peak‐to‐valley current ratio (PVCR), which improved from 2.8 to 4.6 when the temperature is lowered from 300 to 100 K. At various applied‐biasing voltages, all conceivable tunneling mechanisms that regulate charge transport are elucidated. Furthermore, the real‐time response of the NDR device is investigated at various streptavidin concentrations down to 1 pm, operating at a low biasing voltage. Such applications of NDR devices may lead to the development of cutting‐edge electrical devices operating at low power that may be employed as biosensors to detect a variety of target DNA (e.g., ct‐DNA) and protein (e.g., the spike protein associated with COVID‐19).