The intrinsic origin of hysteresis in MoS2 field effect transistors

We investigate the hysteresis and gate voltage stress effect in MoS2 field effect transistors (FETs). We observe that both the suspended and the SiO2-supported FETs have large hysteresis in their transfer curves under vacuum which cannot be attributed to the traps at the interface between the MoS2 and the SiO2 or in the SiO2 substrate or the gas adsorption/desorption effect. Our findings indicate that the hysteresis we observe comes from the MoS2 itself, revealing an intrinsic origin of the hysteresis besides some extrinsic factors. The fact that the FETs based on thinner MoS2 have larger hysteresis than that with thicker MoS2 suggests that the surface of MoS2 plays a key role in the hysteresis. The gate voltage sweep range, sweep direction, sweep time and loading history all affect the hysteresis observed in the transfer curves.