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Electronic structure, defect formation and passivation of 2D materials


Type

Thesis

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Authors

Abstract

The emerging 2D materials are potential solutions to the scaling of electronic devices to smaller sizes with lower energy cost and faster computing speed. Unlike traditional semiconductors e.g. Si, Ge, 2D materials do not have surface dangling bonds and the short-channel effect. A wide variety of band structure is available for different functions. The aim of the thesis is to calculate the electronic structures of several important 2D materials and study their application in particular devices, using density functional theory (DFT) which provides robust results. The Schottky barrier height (SBH) is calculated for hexagonal nitrides. The SBH has a linear relationship with metal work function but the slope does not always equal because Fermi level pinning (FLP) arises. The chemical trend of FLP is investigated. Then we show that the pinning factor of Si can be tuned by inserting an oxide interlayer, which is important in the application to dopant-free Si solar cells. Apart from contact resistance, we want to improve the conductivity of the electrode. This can be done by using a physisorbed contact layer like FeCl3, AuCl3, and SbF5 etc. to dope the graphene without making the graphene pucker so these dopants do not degrade the graphene’s carrier mobility. Then we consider the defect formation of 2D HfS2 and SnS2 which are candidates in the n-type part of a tunnel FET. We found that these two materials have high mobility but there are also intrinsic defects including the S vacancy, S interstitial, and Hf/Sn interstitial. Finally, we study how to make defect states chemically inactive, namely passivation. The S vacancy is the most important defect in mechanically exfoliated 2D MoS2. We found that in the most successful superacid bis(trifluoromethane) sulfonamide (TFSI) treatment, H is the passivation agent. A symmetric adsorption geometry of 3H in the -1 charge state can remove all gap states and return the Fermi level to the midgap.

Description

Date

2018-11-12

Advisors

John, Robertson

Keywords

2D materials, Schottky Contact, Density Functional Theory, Defect Passivation, Defect Formation

Qualification

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Awarding Institution

University of Cambridge