Ultralow Schottky Barrier Height Achieved by Using Molybdenum Disulfide/Dielectric Stack for Source/Drain Contact

Abstract

Energy barrier formed at a metal/semiconductor interface is a critical factor determining the performance of nano-electronic devices. Although diverse methods for reducing the Schottky barrier height (SBH) via interface engineering have been developed, it is still difficult to achieve both an ultralow SBH and a low dependence on the contact metals. In this study, a novel structure, namely, a metal/ transition-metal dichalcogenide (TMD) interlayer (IL)/dielectric IL/semiconductor (MTDS) structure, was developed to overcome these issues. Molybdenum disulfide (MoS2) is a promising TMD IL material owing to its interface characteristics, which yields a low SBH and reduces the reliance on contact metals. Moreover, an ultralow SBH is achieved via the insertion of an ultrathin ZnO layer between MoS2 and a semiconductor, thereby inducing an n-type doping effect on the MoS2 IL and forming an interface dipole in the favorable direction at the ZnO IL/semiconductor interfaces. Consequently, the lowest SBH (0.07 eV) and a remarkable improvement in the reverse current density (by a factor of approximately 5400) are achieved, with a wide room for contact-metal dependence. This study experimentally and theoretically validates the effect of the proposed MTDS structure, which can be a key technique for next-generation nanoelectronics.