Charge transfers and charged defects in WSe₂/graphene-SiC interfaces

We report on Kelvin probe force microscopy (KPFM) and density functional theory (DFT) investigations of charge transfers in vertical heterojunctions between tungsten diselenide (WSe₂) layers and graphene on silicon carbide substrates. The experimental data reveal the existence of an interface dipole, which is shown by DFT to originate from the neutralization of the graphene n-doping by an electron transfer towards the transition metal dichalcogenide (TMD) layer. The relative vacuum level shift probed by KPFM between the TMD and the substrate stays constant when passing from monolayer to bilayer graphene, which confirms that the Schottky-Mott model can be rigorously applied to these interfaces by taking into account the charge transfer from the substrate to the TMD. DFT calculations show that the first TMD layer absorbs almost all the excess charges contained in the graphene, and that the second TMD layer shall not play a significant role in the electrostatics of the system. Negatively charged defect at the TMD edges contribute however to the electrostatic landscape probed by KPFM on both TMD layers.