Lowering the Schottky Barrier Height by Quasi-van der Waals Contacts for High-Performance p-Type MoTe2 Field-Effect Transistors

Two-dimensional (2D) transition-metal dichalcogenides (TMDs) offer advantages over traditional silicon in future electronics but are hampered by the prominent high contact resistance of metal–TMD interfaces, especially for p-type TMDs. Here, we present high-performance p-type MoTe2 field-effect transistors via a nondestructive van der Waals (vdW) transfer process, establishing low contact resistance between the 2D MoTe2 semiconductor and the PtTe2 semimetal. The integration of PtTe2 as contacts in MoTe2 field-effect transistors leads to significantly improved electrical characteristics compared to conventional metal contacts, evidenced by a mobility increase to 80 cm2 V–1 s–1, an on-state current rise to 5.0 μA/μm, and a reduction in Schottky barrier height (SBH) to 48 meV. Such a low SBH in quasi-van der Waals contacts can be assigned to the low electrical resistivity of PtTe2 and the high efficiency of carrier injection at the 2D semimetal/2D semiconductor interfaces. Imaging via transmission electron microscopy reveals that the 2D semimetal/two-dimensional semiconductor interfaces are atomically flat and exceptionally clean. This interface engineering strategy could enable low-resistance contacts based on vdW architectures in a facile manner, providing opportunities for 2D materials for next-generation optoelectronics and electronics.