Charge transfer in crystalline germanium/monolayer MoS2heterostructures prepared by chemical vapor deposition

Heterostructuring provides novel opportunities for exploring emergent phenomena and applications by developing designed properties beyond those of homogeneous materials. Advances in nanoscience enable the preparation of heterostructures formed incommensurate materials. Two-dimensional (2D) materials, such as graphene and transition metal dichalcogenides, are of particular interest due to their distinct physical characteristics. Recently, 2D/2D heterostructures have opened up new research areas. However, other heterostructures such as 2D/three-dimensional (3D) materials have not been thoroughly studied yet although the growth of 3D materials on 2D materials creating 2D/3D heterostructures with exceptional carrier transport properties has been reported. Here we report a novel heterostructure composed of Ge and monolayer MoS₂, prepared by chemical vapor deposition. A single crystalline Ge (110) thin film was grown on monolayer MoS₂. The electrical characteristics of Ge and MoS₂ in the Ge/MoS₂ heterostructure were remarkably different from those of isolated Ge and MoS₂. The field-effect conductivity type of the monolayer MoS₂ is converted from n-type to p-type by growth of the Ge thin film on top of it. Undoped Ge on MoS₂ is highly conducting. The observations can be explained by charge transfer in the heterostructure as opposed to chemical doping via the incorporation of impurities, based on our first-principles calculations.