Mechanical Stress Modulation of Resistance in MoS2Junctions

Pradeep Chaudhary, Haidong Lu, Michael Loes, Alexey Lipatov, Alexander Sinitskii, Alexei Gruverman

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

17 Scopus citations

Abstract

Strain engineering is a powerful strategy to control the physical properties of material-enabling devices with enhanced functionality and improved performance. Here, we investigate a modulation of the transport behavior of the two-dimensional MoS2 junctions under the mechanical stress induced by a tip of an atomic force microscope (AFM). We show that the junction resistance can be reversibly tuned by up to 4 orders of magnitude by altering a tip-induced force. Analysis of the stress-induced evolution of the I-V characteristics indicates a combined effect of the tip-induced strain and strain gradient on the energy barrier height and profile. In addition, we show that the tip-generated flexoelectric effect leads to significant enhancement of the photovoltaic effect in the MoS2 junctions. A combination of the optical and mechanical stimuli facilitates reversible photomechanical tuning of resistance of the narrow-band 2D semiconductors and development of devices with an enhanced photovoltaic response.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)1047-1052
Number of pages6
JournalNano Letters
Volume22
Issue number3
DOIs
StatePublished - Feb 9 2022

Keywords

  • electronic transport
  • flexoelectricity
  • photovoltaic effect
  • strain gradient
  • two-dimensional MoS

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Bioengineering
  • General Chemistry
  • General Materials Science
  • Condensed Matter Physics
  • Mechanical Engineering

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