Chemical Synthesis and Integration of Highly Conductive PdTe2 with Low-Dimensional Semiconductors for p-Type Transistors with Low Contact Barriers

Low-dimensional semiconductors provide promising ultrathin channels for constructing more-than-Moore devices. However, the prominent contact barriers at the semiconductor-metal electrodes interfaces greatly limit the performance of the obtained devices. Here, a chemical approach is developed for the construction of p-type field-effect transistors (FETs) with low contact barriers by achieving the simultaneous synthesis and integration of 2D PdTe2 with various low-dimensional semiconductors. The 2D PdTe2 synthesized through a quasi-liquid process exhibits high electrical conductivity (approximate to 4.3 x 10(6) S m(-1)) and thermal conductivity (approximate to 130 W m(-1) K-1), superior to other transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDCs) and even higher than some metals. In addition, PdTe2 electrodes with desired geometry can be synthesized directly on 2D MoTe2 and other semiconductors to form high-performance p-type FETs without any further treatment. The chemically derived atomically ordered PdTe2-MoTe2 interface results in significantly reduced contact barrier (65 vs 240 meV) and thus increases the performance of the obtained devices. This work demonstrates the great potential of 2D PdTe2 as contact materials and also opens up a new avenue for the future device fabrication through the chemical construction and integration of 2D components.

Automated summary

A chemical approach has been developed for constructing P-type field-effect transistors with low contact barriers by simultaneously synthesizing and integrating 2D PdTe2 with various low-dimensional semiconductors. The synthesized 2D PdTe2 exhibits high electrical and thermal conductivity, surpassing other transition metal dichalcogenides and even some metals. By chemically constructing and integrating 2D components, the contact barriers have been significantly reduced, leading to an increase in device performance.