We investigate the distribution and temperature-dependent optical properties of sharp, zero-phonon emission from defect-based single photon sources in multilayer hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN) flakes. We observe sharp emission lines from optically active defects distributed across an energy range that exceeds 500 meV. Spectrally resolved photon-correlation measurements verify single photon emission, even when multiple emission lines are simultaneously excited within the same h-BN flake. We also present a detailed study of the temperature-dependent line width, spectral energy shift, and intensity for two different zero-phonon lines centered at 575 and 682 nm, which reveals a nearly identical temperature dependence despite a large difference in transition energy. Our temperature-dependent results are well described by a lattice vibration model that considers piezoelectric coupling to in-plane phonons. Finally, polarization spectroscopy measurements suggest that whereas the 575 nm emission line is directly excited by 532 nm excitation, the 682 nm line is excited indirectly.

The electrical properties of multilayer MoS2/graphene heterojunction transistors are investigated. Temperature-dependent I-V measurements indicate the concentration of unintentional donors in exfoliated MoS2 to be 3.57 × 10(11) cm(-2), while the ionized donor concentration is determined as 3.61 × 10(10) cm(-2). The temperature-dependent measurements also reveal two dominant donor levels, one at 0.27 eV below the conduction band and another located at 0.05 eV below the conduction band. The I-V characteristics are asymmetric with drain bias voltage and dependent on the junction used for the source or drain contact. I-V characteristics of the device are consistent with a long channel one-dimensional field-effect transistor model with Schottky contact. Utilizing devices, which have both graphene/MoS2 and Ti/MoS2 contacts, the Schottky barrier heights of both interfaces are measured. The charge transport mechanism in both junctions was determined to be either thermionic-field emission or field emission depending on bias voltage and temperature. On the basis of a thermionic field emission model, the barrier height at the graphene/MoS2 interface was determined to be 0.23 eV, while the barrier height at the Ti/MoS2 interface was 0.40 eV. The value of Ti/MoS2 barrier is higher than previously reported values, which did not include the effects of thermionic field emission.

Two-dimensional hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN) is a wide bandgap material which has promising mechanical and optical properties. Here we report the realization of an initial nucleation density of h-BN <1 per mm using low-pressure chemical vapor deposition (CVD) on polycrystalline copper. This enabled wafer-scale CVD growth of single-crystal monolayer h-BN with a lateral size up to ∼300 μm, bilayer h-BN with a lateral size up to ∼60 μm, and trilayer h-BN with a lateral size up to ∼35 μm. Based on the large single-crystal monolayer h-BN domain, the sizes of the as-grown bi- and trilayer h-BN grains are 2 orders of magnitude larger than typical h-BN multilayer domains. In addition, we achieved coalesced h-BN films with an average grain size ∼100 μm. Various flake morphologies and their interlayer stacking configurations of bi- and trilayer h-BN domains were studied. Raman signatures of mono- and multilayer h-BN were investigated side by side in the same film. It was found that the Raman peak intensity can be used as a marker for the number of layers.

The dry transfer of AB stacked bilayer high quality SiC epitaxial graphene is presented. Monolayers were also transferred for comparison. Large continuous layers exceeding hundreds of microns were successfully transferred. Structural characterization, using Raman and TEM methods, are used to assess the uniformity and the quality of the transferred layers, in which case they are found to be of high quality and tight uniformity. The bilayer structural characterization methods indicate AB stacking with good uniformity and stacking order over large areas. Electrical characterization is used to extract mobility performance figures and other electrical characteristics for the transferred layers in which the bilayers distinctively show electrical characteristics akin to AB stacking in contrast to the transferred monolayers using the same methods. Contact resistance values as well as transfer length ratios are measured using TLM method and reported for bilayers. Finally, annealing studies show mobility enhancement for bilayers as well as potential application in gas sensing.

The optical response of graphene-MoS2 heterojunctions is investigated. Spatial resolution photoresponse maps obtained using multiple bias conditions are measured and analyzed by exciting the graphene-MoS2 heterojunction area, MoS2, and Ti-MoS2 junction on the same device with an 800 nm wavelength Ti-Sapphire raster scanning laser. It is found that a large photothermal electric (PTE) effect is the dominant mechanism for photoresponse in a graphene-MoS2 heterojunction. Responsivities of 0.139 mA/W and 0.019 mA/W on the graphene-MoS2 heterojunction area and 0.457 mA/W and 0.032 mA/W on the Ti-MoS2 junction area are observed with and without a bias, respectively, using a 430 μW laser. Current enhancement due to laser illumination is observed as far as 14 μm from the edge of the graphene-MoS2 heterojunction. Voltage generated by the PTE effect lowers the Schottky barrier junction, enabling more current flow during laser excitation. Photothermal-generated voltages of 0.22–0.47 mV and 31.8–37.9 mV are estimated at the graphene-MoS2 heterojunction and the Ti-MoS2 junction, respectively.