WS₂ Nanotube Transistor for Photodetection and Optoelectronic Memory Applications

Abstract

Nanotube and nanowire transistors hold great promises for future electronic and optoelectronic devices owing to their downscaling possibilities. In this work, a single multi‐walled tungsten disulfide (WS2) nanotube is utilized as the channel of a back‐gated field‐effect transistor. The device exhibits a p‐type behavior in ambient conditions, with a hole mobility µp ≈ 1.4 cm2V−1s−1 and a subthreshold swing SS ≈ 10 V dec−1. Current–voltage characterization at different temperatures reveals that the device presents two slightly different asymmetric Schottky barriers at drain and source contacts. Self‐powered photoconduction driven by the photovoltaic effect is demonstrated, and a photoresponsivity R ≈ 10 mAW−1 at 2 V drain bias and room temperature. Moreover, the transistor is tested for data storage applications. A two‐state memory is reported, where positive and negative gate pulses drive the switching between two different current states, separated by a window of 130%. Finally, gate and light pulses are combined to demonstrate an optoelectronic memory with four well‐separated states. The results herein presented are promising for data storage, Boolean logic, and neural network applications.