Bifunctional NbS₂-Based Asymmetric Heterostructure for Lateral and Vertical Electronic Devices

Abstract

Structural asymmetry of materials plays a crucial role in developing multipurpose devices. Layered metallic transition metal dichalcogenides (MTMDCs) have been proposed as promising materials in electronics. However, they are still subject to native surface oxidation, limiting their practical applications. Combination of surface protection and native surface oxidation of MTMDCs will create asymmetric structures for devices but has yet to be explored. Here, we report a bifunctional NbS₂-based vertical heterostructure derived from epitaxially grown NbS₂ on MoS₂ followed by a natural oxidation (MoS₂-NbS₂-NbO_<i>x</i>), which simultaneously exhibits both high-efficiency tunneling conductive and memristive surfaces. With the tunneling conductive surface, the heterostructure functions as nearly ohmic contact electrodes with a two-dimensional (2D) channel in lateral transistors, delivering an enhanced mobility ∼140 times higher than that of the exfoliated NbS₂-contacted device. With the memristive surface, the heterostructure can be used to build high-performance lateral or vertical memristors with low working voltages and synaptic functions. By combining both types of surfaces, a memristor array for nonvolatile memory is further developed. Moreover, the memristors show a good endurance for 2000 cycles of bending as flexible devices. The bifunctional heterostructure based on NbS₂ offers a strategy toward the future applications of layered metallic materials.