Electronic, Thermal, and (Some) Unusual Applications of 2D Materials

Eric Pop

Electrical Engineering, Materials Science & Engineering, and SystemX Alliance

Stanford University, Stanford CA 94305, U.S.A.

This talk will present recent highlights from our research on two-dimensional (2D) materials, including graphene, boron nitride (h-BN), and transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDs). Our results span from material growth and fundamental measurements, to simulations, devices, and system-oriented applications. We have grown monolayer 2D semiconductors over large areas, including MoS₂ [1], WSe₂, and MoSe₂ [2]. We also uncovered that ZrSe₂ and HfSe₂ have native high-κ dielectrics ZrO₂ and HfO₂, which are of key technological relevance [3]. Improved electrical contacts [4] led to the realization of 10 nm monolayer MoS₂ transistors with high current density, near ballistic limits [5]. We have also demonstrated new memory devices based on Mo-, Sb-, and Ge- tellurides [6,7]. These could all play a role in 3D heterogeneous integration of nanoelectronics, which presents significant advantages for energy-efficient computation [8]. I will also describe a few less conventional applications, where we used 2D materials as highly efficient thermal insulators [9] and as thermal transistors [10]. These could enable control of heat in “thermal circuits” analogous with electrical circuits. Combined, these studies reveal fundamental limits and some unusual applications of 2D materials, which take advantage of their unique properties.