Structural and Esaki-Diode-like Electrical Properties of PLD-Grown 2D MoS2 Film on MBE Grown AlN/Si(111) Heterostructures
MoS2 thin films were synthesized via pulsed laser deposition (PLD) onto AlN/Si(111) templates, where the AlN buffer layers (110 and 200 nm thick) were grown by molecular beam epitaxy. We achieved excellent MoS2 thickness uniformity (≈3 monolayers) and confirmed the conformal coverage of the PLD-grown films by Raman mapping. Transmission electron microscopy analysis confirmed the epitaxial character of the AlN film and the presence of an ultrathin aluminum oxynitride layer on its surface. Following X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy analysis, oxygen impurities were confirmed in the bulk AlN film as well. Heterojunctions between the ultrathin MoS2 film and AlN, investigated by current-voltage characterization of vertical diode structures, exhibit Esaki-diode-like behavior with a negative-resistance zone. A diagram of the energy bands and Fermi levels in the heterostructure composed of the thick oxygen-doped AlN film sandwiched between the MoS2 and Si electrodes was proposed, and the observed Esaki-diode-like current-voltage characteristic was attributed to electron tunneling from the oxygen impurity band in the AlN film into the valence band of the degenerate p-MoS2 film.
Authors
- M. Gregor (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7313-2563)
- Yvon Cordier (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3720-9409)
- Alica Rosova (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7344-5770)
- Marián Precner (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2998-2920)
- Marianna Spankova (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5016-1185)
- Marcel Talacko (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5390-2388)
- Edmund Dobročka (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6048-7891)
- Filippo Giannazzo (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0074-0469)
- Stefan Chromik (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5678-5121)
- Salvatore Ethan Panasci (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6090-9211)
- Martin Moško (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9927-2617)
- Éric Frayssinet (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3900-8440)
- Gabriel Vanko (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4624-6658)
- Peter Švec (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2257-3710)
Institutions
- Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (FR)
- Université Côte d'Azur (FR)
- Czech Academy of Sciences (CZ)
- Slovak Academy of Sciences (SK)
- National Research Council (IT)
- Institute for Microelectronics and Microsystems (IT)
- Comenius University Bratislava (SK)
Publication Details
- Journal
- ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces
- Published
- 2026-11-01
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1021/acsami.6c11190
- Primary Topic
- 2D Materials and Applications
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 0.00
Funders
- Slovenská Akadémia Vied
- Agentúra na Podporu Výskumu a Vývoja
- Vedecká Grantová Agentúra MŠVVaŠ SR a SAV
- NextGenerationEU