High-Yield Ti₃ C₂ T_x MXene-MoS₂ Integrated Circuits

Area of Science:

• Materials Science
• Nanotechnology
• Electronics Engineering

Background:

• Solution-processed conducting films are crucial for large-area ultrathin nanoelectronics.
• Integrating these films into sub-10 nm gate oxide 2D MoS₂ transistor circuits presents significant challenges.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the use of spray-coated Ti₃ C₂ T_x MXene films as metal contacts in 2D MoS₂ transistors.
• To optimize Ti₃ C₂ T_x film properties through vacuum annealing for improved performance and processability.

Main Methods:

• Spray coating Ti₃ C₂ T_x MXene films on glass substrates.
• Vacuum annealing of the Ti₃ C₂ T_x films to enhance conductivity and work function.
• Patterning of annealed Ti₃ C₂ T_x films using standard cleanroom processes.
• Transferring MoS₂ films onto patterned Ti₃ C₂ T_x for transistor fabrication.

Main Results:

• Vacuum annealing significantly increased Ti₃ C₂ T_x film conductivity to ~11,000 S cm^-1 and reduced work function to ~4.5 eV.
• Annealed Ti₃ C₂ T_x films exhibited good adhesion during patterning and favorable band alignment with MoS₂ for n-type transport.
• Fabricated large-area arrays of Ti₃ C₂ T_x-MoS₂ transistors, including those with 8 nm dielectric layers, demonstrated high yield and stable performance.
• Demonstrated functional circuits such as rectifiers and NMOS inverters.

Conclusions:

• Solution-processed, vacuum-annealed Ti₃ C₂ T_x MXene films are highly suitable as metal contacts for large-area 2D nanoelectronics.
• This approach facilitates the fabrication of high-performance and reliable ultrathin transistors and integrated circuits.
• Ti₃ C₂ T_x MXene films show immense potential for advancing the field of large-area 2D nanoelectronic devices.