Muhammad R. Islam

Photoluminescence quenching in gold - MoS2 hybrid nanoflakes

Achieving tunability of two dimensional (2D) transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDs) functions calls for the introduction of hybrid 2D materials by means of localized interactions with zero dimensional (0D) materials. A metal-semiconductor interface, as in gold (Au) - molybdenum disulfide (MoS2), is of great interest from the standpoint of fundamental science as it constitutes an outstanding platform to investigate plasmonic-exciton interactions and charge transfer. The applied aspects of such systems introduce new options for electronics, photovoltaics, detectors, gas sensing, catalysis, and biosensing. Here we consider pristine MoS2 and study its interaction with Au nanoislands, resulting in local variations of photoluminescence (PL) in Au-MoS2 hybrid structures. By depositing monolayers of Au on MoS2, we investigate the electronic structure of the resulting hybrid systems. We present strong evidence of PL quenching of MoS2 as a result of charge transfer from MoS2 to Au: p-doping of MoS2. The results suggest new avenues for 2D nanoelectronics, active control of transport or catalytic properties.

Two-dimensional lateral heterojunction through bandgap engineering of MoS2 via oxygen plasma.

The present study explores the structural, optical (photoluminescence (PL)), and electrical properties of lateral heterojunctions fabricated by selective exposure of mechanically exfoliated few layer two-dimensional (2D) molybdenum disulfide (MoS2) flakes under oxygen (O2)-plasma. Raman spectra of the plasma exposed MoS2 flakes show a significant loss in the structural quality due to lattice distortion and creation of oxygen-containing domains in comparison to the pristine part of the same flake. The PL mapping evidences the complete quenching of peak A and B consistent with a change in the exciton states of MoS2 after the plasma treatment, indicating a significant change in its band gap properties. The electrical transport measurements performed across the pristine and the plasma-exposed MoS2 flake exhibit a gate tunable current rectification behavior with a rectification ratio up to 1.3  ×  10(3) due to the band-offset at the pristine and plasma-exposed MoS2 interface. Our Raman, PL, and electrical transport data confirm the formation of an excellent lateral heterojunction in 2D MoS2 through its bandgap modulation via oxygen plasma.

A general approach for high yield fabrication of CMOS-compatible all-semiconducting carbon nanotube field effect transistors

We report strategies to achieve both high assembly yield of carbon nanotubes at selected positions of the circuit via dielectrophoresis (DEP) and field effect transistor (FET) yield using an aqueous solution of semiconducting-enriched single-walled carbon nanotubes (s-SWNTs). When the DEP parameters were optimized for the assembly of individual s-SWNTs, 97% of the devices showed FET behavior with a maximum mobility of 210 cm2 V(-1) s(-1), on-off current ratio ∼10(6) and on-conductance up to 3 µS, but with an assembly yield of only 33%. As the DEP parameters were optimized so that one to five s-SWNTs are connected per electrode pair, the assembly yield was almost 90%, with ∼90% of these assembled devices demonstrating FET behavior. Further optimization gave an assembly yield of 100% with up to 10 SWNTs per site, but with a reduced FET yield of 59%. Improved FET performance including higher current on-off ratio and high switching speed were obtained by integrating a local Al2O3 gate to the device. Our 90% FET with 90% assembly yield is the highest reported so far for carbon nanotube devices. Our study provides a pathway which could become a general approach for the high yield fabrication of complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS)-compatible carbon nanotube FETs.

Low temperature electron transport spectroscopy of mechanically templated carbon nanotube single electron transistors

We report electronic transport investigations of mechanically templated carbon nanotube single electron transistors (SETs). The devices were fabricated on a Si/SiO2 substrate by controllably placing individual single walled carbon nanotubes (SWNTs) between the source and drain electrodes via dielectrophoresis with a 100 nm wide local Al/Al2O3 bottom gate in the middle. From the low temperature electronic transport measurements, we show that a quantum dot is formed whose charging energy can be tuned from 10 to 90 meV by varying both the local gate and Si backgate. The temperature dependent measurements show that the Coulomb oscillations persist up to 250 K. The transport properties can be explained by a simple potential configuration, which suggests that two tunnel barriers are formed due to the bending of the SWNT at the local gate edges and that the size of the dot and tunnel barrier transparency can be tuned by the gates allowing the operation of SET in a wide temperature range and thereby realizing a c...

Electrical property tuning via defect engineering of single layer MoS2 by oxygen plasma

We have demonstrated that the electrical property of single-layer molybdenum disulfide (MoS2) can be significantly tuned from the semiconducting to the insulating regime via controlled exposure to oxygen plasma. The mobility, on-current and resistance of single-layer MoS2 devices were varied by up to four orders of magnitude by controlling the plasma exposure time. Raman spectroscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and density functional theory studies suggest that the significant variation of electronic properties is caused by the creation of insulating MoO3-rich disordered domains in the MoS2 sheet upon oxygen plasma exposure, leading to an exponential variation of resistance and mobility as a function of plasma exposure time. The resistance variation calculated using an effective medium model is in excellent agreement with the measurements. The simple approach described here can be used for the fabrication of tunable two-dimensional nanodevices based on MoS2 and other transition metal dichalcogenides.

Deposition of Nano Fiber ZnO and Zn1-xCdxO Thin Films by a Simple Spray Pyrolysis and Characterizations for Optoelectronic Applications

ZnO and Zn1-xCdxO thin films have been deposited onto glass substrate using spray pyrolysis at 200°C. Cadmium-zinc alloy thin films have been prepared by taking different concentrations of cadmium (Cd). The elemental analysis and the surface morphology of the films were carried by the energy dispersive X-ray (EDX) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The EDX data show that the films are highly stoichiometric. The SEM images show that the film changes from nano fiber to grain with the increase of Cd concentrations. The X-ray diffraction pattern shows that the films are polycrystalline in nature. The crystal structure of the films changes from hexagonal-ZnO to cubic-CdO depending on the concentration of Zn and Cd in the Zn1-xCdxO films. The optical properties of these films were studied by UV-VIS spectroscopy. The optical band gap of the films was changed from 3.2 to 2.4 with the variation of cadmium.