Wafer-scale high-κ dielectrics for two-dimensional circuits via van der Waals integration.

The practical application of two-dimensional (2D) semiconductors for high-performance electronics requires the integration with large-scale and high-quality dielectrics-which however have been challenging to deposit to date, owing to their dangling-bonds-free surface. Here, we report a dry dielectric integration strategy that enables the transfer of wafer-scale and high-κ dielectrics on top of 2D semiconductors. By utilizing an ultra-thin buffer layer, sub-3 nm thin Al ₂ O ₃ or HfO ₂ dielectrics could be pre-deposited and then mechanically dry-transferred on top of MoS ₂ monolayers. The transferred ultra-thin dielectric film could retain wafer-scale flatness and uniformity without any cracks, demonstrating a capacitance up to 2.8 μF/cm ² , equivalent oxide thickness down to 1.2 nm, and leakage currents of ~10 ^-7 A/cm ² . The fabricated top-gate MoS ₂ transistors showed intrinsic properties without doping effects, exhibiting on-off ratios of ~10 ⁷ , subthreshold swing down to 68 mV/dec, and lowest interface states of 7.6×10 ⁹ cm ^-2 eV ^-1 . We also show that the scalable top-gate arrays can be used to construct functional logic gates. Our study provides a feasible route towards the vdW integration of high-κ dielectric films using an industry-compatible ALD process with well-controlled thickness, uniformity and scalability.
(© 2023. The Author(s).)