Band engineering of the MoS₂/stanene heterostructure: strain and electrostatic gating

In a fast developing field, it has been found that van der Waals heterostructures can overcome the weakness of single two-dimensional layered materials and extend their electronic and optoelectronic applications. Through first-principles methods, the studied MoS₂/stanene heterostructure preserves high-speed carrier characteristics and opens the direct band gap. Simultaneously, the band alignment shows that the electrons transfer from stanene to MoS₂, which forms an internal electric field. As an effective strategy, the out-of-plane strain remarkably changes the band gaps of the heterostructure and enhances its carrier concentration. In addition, the combined effects of the internal and external electric fields can further open the band gaps and induce a direct-to-indirect gap transition in the heterostructure. More interestingly, when the external electric field is equal to the reverse internal one, the heterostructure regains a Dirac cone. Our results show that the MoS₂/stanene heterostructure has potential applications in high-speed optoelectronic devices.