First-principles simulations of Graphene/Transition-metal-Dichalcogenides/Graphene Field-Effect Transistor

A prototype field-effect transistor (FET) with fascinating properties can be made by assembling graphene and two-dimensional insulating crystals into three-dimensional stacks with atomic layer precision. Transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDCs) such as WS$_{\mathrm{2}}$, MoS$_{\mathrm{2}}$ are good candidates for the atomically thin barrier between two layers of graphene in the vertical FET due to their sizable bandgaps. We investigate the electronic properties of the Graphene/TMDCs/Graphene sandwich structure using first-principles method. We find that the effective tunnel barrier height of the TMDC layers in contact with the graphene electrodes has a layer dependence and can be modulated by a gate voltage. Consequently a very high ON/OFF ratio can be achieved with appropriate number of TMDC layers and a suitable range of the gate voltage. The spin-orbit coupling in TMDC layers is also layer dependent but unaffected by the gate voltage. These properties can be important in future nanoelectronic device designs.