Electrically driven tuning of the dielectric constant in MoS2 layers

The properties of two-dimensional materials, such as molybdenum disulfide, will play an important role in the design of the next generation of electronic devices. Many of those properties are determined by the dielectric constant which is one of the fundamental quantities used to characterize conductivity, refractive index, charge screening, and capacitance. We predict that the effective dielectric constant (ε) of few-layer MoS2 is tunable by an external electric field (Eext). Through first-principles electronic structure calculations, including van der Waals interactions, we show that at low fields (Eext < 0.01 V/Å) ε assumes a nearly constant value ∼4 but increases at higher fields to values that depend on the layer thickness. The thicker the structure, the stronger the modulation of ε with the electric field. Increasing of the external field perpendicular to the dichalcogenide layers beyond a critical value can drive the system to an unstable state where the layers are weakly coupled and can be easily separated. The observed dependence of ε on the external field is due to charge polarization driven by the bias. Implications on the optical properties as well as on the electronic excitations are also considered. Our results point to a promising way of understanding and controlling the screening properties of MoS2 through external electric fields.