Enhanced Transport and Optoelectronic Properties of van der Waals Materials on CaF<sub>2</sub> Films.

Song, Haizeng; Zhou, Fei; Yan, Shancheng; Su, Xin; Wu, Han; Wu, Qi; Gao, Yuan; Chen, Rui et al. · Nano Lett · 2023

basic_science · Level V

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Abstract

To achieve better properties of van der Waals (vdW) devices, vdW heterointerfaces with substrates such as hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN) were introduced to alleviate adverse substrate effects. However, the premature dielectric breakdown and its scale limitation make wider application of h-BN substrates challenging. Here we report a fluoride-based substrate that substantially improves optoelectronic and transport properties of dichalcogenide devices, with enhancement factors comparable to those of h-BN. A model system of wafer-scale fluoride calcium (CaF<sub>2</sub>) ultrathin films with the preferable growth direction along [111] is prepared by the magnetron sputtering method. Results show that the constructed SnS<sub>2</sub>/CaF<sub>2</sub> and WS<sub>2</sub>/CaF<sub>2</sub> devices exhibit 1 order of magnitude higher than devices based on the SiO<sub>2</sub> substrate in electronic mobility and photoresponsivity. Theoretical calculations reveal that devices based on fluoride substrates are immune from the Coulomb impurity scattering by forming quasi-vdW interfaces, exhibiting great potential for high responsivity and mobility of photogenerated carriers in 2D vdW devices.