The high field transport characteristics of nanostructured transistors based on layered materials are not only important from a device physics perspective but also for possible applications in next generation electronics. With the growing promise of layered materials as replacements to conventional silicon technology, the high current density properties of the layered material titanium trisulfide (TiS₃) are studied here. The high breakdown current densities of up to 1.7 × 10⁶ A cm⁻² are observed in TiS₃ nanoribbon-based field-effect transistors, which are among the highest found in semiconducting nanomaterials. Investigating the mechanisms responsible for current breakdown, a thermogravimetric analysis of bulk TiS₃ is performed and the results with density functional theory and kinetic Monte Carlo calculations are compared. In conclusion, the oxidation of TiS₃ and subsequent desorption of sulfur atoms play an important role in the electrical breakdown of the material in ambient conditions. The results show that TiS₃ is an attractive material for high power applications and lend insight into the thermal and defect activated mechanisms responsible for electrical breakdown in nanostructured devices.

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The fabrication of van der Waals heterostructures, artificial materials assembled by individual stacking of 2D layers, is among the most promising directions in 2D materials research. Until now, the most widespread approach to stack 2D layers relies on deterministic placement methods, which are cumbersome and tend to suffer from poor control over the lattice orientations and the presence of unwanted interlayer adsorbates. Here, we present a different approach to fabricate ultrathin heterostructures by exfoliation of bulk franckeite which is a naturally occurring and air stable van der Waals heterostructure (composed of alternating SnS 2-like and PbS-like layers stacked on top of each other). Presenting both an attractive narrow bandgap (<0.7 eV) and p-type doping, we find that the material can be exfoliated both mechanically and chemically down to few-layer thicknesses. We present extensive theoretical and experimental characterizations of the material's electronic properties and crystal structure, and explore applications for near-infrared photodetectors.

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Isolation and characterization of mechanically exfoliated black phosphorus flakes with a thickness down to two single-layers is presented. A modification of the mechanical exfoliation method, which provides higher yield of atomically thin flakes than conventional mechanical exfoliation, has been developed. We present general guidelines to determine the number of layers using optical microscopy, Raman spectroscopy and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) in a fast and reliable way. Moreover, we demonstrate that the exfoliated flakes are highly crystalline and that they are stable even in free-standing form through Raman spectroscopy and TEM measurements. A strong thickness dependence of the band structure is found by density functional theory (DFT) calculations. The exciton binding energy, within an effective mass approximation, is also calculated for different number of layers. Our computational results for the optical gap are consistent with preliminary photoluminescence results on thin flakes. Finally, we study the environmental stability of black phosphorus flakes finding that the flakes are very hydrophilic and that long term exposure to air moisture etches black phosphorus away. Nonetheless, we demonstrate that the aging of the flakes is slow enough to allow fabrication of field-effect transistors with strong ambipolar behavior. DFT calculations also give us insight into the water-induced changes of the structural and electronic properties of black phosphorus.@en