Probing the Electronic and Opto-Electronic Properties of Multilayer MoS₂ Field-Effect Transistors at Low Temperatures

Transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDs)-based field-effect transistors (FETs) are being investigated vigorously for their promising applications in optoelectronics. Despite the high optical response reported in the literature, most of them are studied at room temperature. To extend the application of these materials in a photodetector, particularly at a low temperature, detailed understanding of the photo response behavior of these materials at low temperatures is crucial. Here we present a systematic investigation of temperature-dependent electronic and optoelectronic properties of few-layers MoS₂ FETs, synthesized using the mechanical exfoliation of bulk MoS₂ crystal, on the Si/SiO₂ substrate. Our MoS₂ FET show a room-temperature field-effect mobility μ_FE ~40 cm²·V^-1·s^-1, which increases with decreasing temperature, stabilizing at 80 cm²·V^-1·s^-1 below 100 K. The temperature-dependent (50 K < T < 300 K) photoconductivity measurements were investigated using a continuous laser source λ = 658 nm (E = 1.88 eV) over a broad range of effective illuminating laser intensity, P_eff (0.02 μW < P_eff < 0.6 μW). Photoconductivity measurements indicate a fractional power dependence of the steady-state photocurrent. The room-temperature photoresponsivity (R) obtained in these samples was found to be ~2 AW^-1, and it increases as a function of decreasing temperature, reaching a maximum at T = 75 K. The optoelectronic properties of MoS₂ at a low temperature give an insight into photocurrent generation mechanisms, which will help in altering/improving the performance of TMD-based devices for various applications.