Near-ideal van der Waals rectifiers based on all-two-dimensional Schottky junctions

The applications of any two-dimensional (2D) semiconductor devices cannot bypass the control of metal-semiconductor interfaces, which can be severely affected by complex Fermi pinning effects and defect states. Here, we report a near-ideal rectifier in the all-2D Schottky junctions composed of the 2D metal 1T-MoTe2 and the semiconducting monolayer MoS2. We show that the van der Waals integration of the two 2D materials can efficiently address the severe Fermi pinning effect generated by conventional metals, leading to increased Schottky barrier height. Furthermore, by healing original atom-vacancies and reducing the intrinsic defect doping in MoS2, the Schottky barrier width can be effectively enlarged by 59%. The 1T '-MoTe2/healed-MoS2 rectifier exhibits a near-unity ideality factor of similar to 1.6, a rectifying ratio of >5 x 10(5), and high external quantum efficiency exceeding 20%. Finally, we generalize the barrier optimization strategy to other Schottky junctions, defining an alternative solution to enhance the performance of 2D-material-based electronic devices.

Automated summary

In this study, a near-ideal rectifier in all-2D Schottky junctions composed of 1T-MoTe2 and monolayer MoS2 was reported, demonstrating an efficient strategy to address Fermi pinning effects and increase Schottky barrier height. By optimizing the van der Waals integration of the two 2D materials and reducing intrinsic defect doping in MoS2, the Schottky barrier width was effectively enlarged by 59%. The rectifier showed a near-unity ideality factor, high rectifying ratio, and exceptional external quantum efficiency, suggesting a promising alternative to enhance the performance of 2D-material-based electronic devices.