Long-Range Lattice Engineering of MoTe₂ by a 2D Electride

Abstract

Doping two-dimensional (2D) semiconductors beyond their degenerate levels provides the opportunity to investigate extreme carrier density-driven superconductivity and phase transition in 2D systems. Chemical functionalization and the ionic gating have achieved the high doping density, but their effective ranges have been limited to ∼1 nm, which restricts the use of highly doped 2D semiconductors. Here, we report on electron diffusion from the 2D electride [Ca₂N]⁺·e^- to MoTe₂ over a distance of 100 nm from the contact interface, generating an electron doping density higher than 1.6 × 10¹⁴ cm^-2 and a lattice symmetry change of MoTe₂ as a consequence of the extreme doping. The long-range lattice symmetry change, suggesting a length scale surpassing the depletion width of conventional metal-semiconductor junctions, was a consequence of the low work function (2.6 eV) with highly mobile anionic electron layers of [Ca₂N]⁺·e^-. The combination of 2D electrides and layered materials yields a novel material design in terms of doping and lattice engineering.