Growth of Tellurium Nanobelts on h-BN for p-type Transistors with Ultrahigh Hole Mobility

The lack of stable p-type van der Waals (vdW) semiconductors with high hole mobility severely impedes the step of low-dimensional materials entering the industrial circle. Although p-type black phosphorus (bP) and tellurium (Te) have shown promising hole mobilities, the instability under ambient conditions of bP and relatively low hole mobility of Te remain as daunting issues. Here we report the growth of high-quality Te nanobelts on atomically flat hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN) for high-performance p-type field-effect transistors (FETs). Importantly, the Te-based FET exhibits an ultrahigh hole mobility up to 1370 cm(2) V-1 s(-1) at room temperature, that may lay the foundation for the future high-performance p-type 2D FET and metal-oxide-semiconductor (p-MOS) inverter. The vdW h-BN dielectric substrate not only provides an ultra-flat surface without dangling bonds for growth of high-quality Te nanobelts, but also reduces the scattering centers at the interface between the channel material and the dielectric layer, thus resulting in the ultrahigh hole mobility .

Automated summary

The lack of stable p-type van der Waals (vdW) semiconductors has been a major barrier for the development of low-dimensional materials in the industry. In this study, high-quality Te nanobelts were grown on atomically flat hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN) substrate, enabling the fabrication of high-performance p-type field-effect transistors (FETs). The Te-based FET showed an ultrahigh hole mobility at room temperature, which holds great potential for future high-performance p-type 2D FETs and metal-oxide-semiconductor (p-MOS) inverters.