Abnormal Multiple Charge Memory States in Exfoliated Few-Layer WSe2 Transistors

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• 作者：Mikai Chen ; Yifan Wang ; Nathan Shepherd ; Chad Huard ; Jiantao Zhou ; L. J. Guo ; Wei Lu ; Xiaogan Liang
• 刊名：ACS Nano
• 出版年：2017
• 出版时间：January 24, 2017
• 年：2017
• 卷：11
• 期：1
• 页码：1091-1102
• 全文大小：741K
• ISSN：1936-086X

文摘

To construct reliable nanoelectronic devices based on emerging 2D layered semiconductors, we need to understand the charge-trapping processes in such devices. Additionally, the identified charge-trapping schemes in such layered materials could be further exploited to make multibit (or highly desirable analog-tunable) memory devices. Here, we present a study on the abnormal charge-trapping or memory characteristics of few-layer WSe₂ transistors. This work shows that multiple charge-trapping states with large extrema spacing, long retention time, and analog tunability can be excited in the transistors made from mechanically exfoliated few-layer WSe₂ flakes, whereas they cannot be generated in widely studied few-layer MoS₂ transistors. Such charge-trapping characteristics of WSe₂ transistors are attributed to the exfoliation-induced interlayer deformation on the cleaved surfaces of few-layer WSe₂ flakes, which can spontaneously form ambipolar charge-trapping sites. Our additional results from surface characterization, charge-retention characterization at different temperatures, and density functional theory computation strongly support this explanation. Furthermore, our research also demonstrates that the charge-trapping states excited in multiple transistors can be calibrated into consistent multibit data storage levels. This work advances the understanding of the charge memory mechanisms in layered semiconductors, and the observed charge-trapping states could be further studied for enabling ultralow-cost multibit analog memory devices.