Van der Waals Heterostructure Devices with Dynamically Controlled Conduction Polarity and Multifunctionality

Controlling the conduction behavior of 2D materials is an important prerequisite to achieve their electronic and optoelectronic applications. However, most of the reported approaches are aware of the shortcomings of inflexibility and complexity, which limits the possibility of multifunctional integration. Here, taking advantage of van der Waals heterostructure engineering, a simple method to achieve a dynamically controlled binary channel in a semivertical MoTe₂/MoS₂ field effect transistor is proposed. It is enabled by the high switchability between tunneling and thermal transports through simply changing the sign of voltage bias. In addition, the proposed system allows for multifunctional integration of transistor with on/off ratio >10⁷ and diode with rectification ratio >10⁶. Moreover, the devices show screen capability to negative photoresponse effect that is widely observed in ambipolar materials, hence improving the photodetection reliability and sensitivity. This study broadens the functionalities of van der Waals heterostructures and opens up more possibilities to realize multifunctional devices.