RESEARCH ARTICLE

Uniform doping for MoS₂/MoTe₂ van der Waals junction field-effect transistors with ideal subthreshold slope

¹ Academy for Advanced Interdisciplinary Science and Technology, Key Laboratory of Advanced Materials and Devices for Post-Moore Chips, Ministry of Education, State Key Laboratory for Advanced Metals and Materials, University of Science and Technology Beijing, Beijing 100083, China
² Future Chip Materials & Technology Innovation Center, School of Future Technology, School of Materials Science and Engineering, Beijing Key Laboratory for Advanced Energy Materials and Technologies, University of Science and Technology Beijing, Beijing 100083, China

^* Corresponding authors (emails: zhangzheng@ustb.edu.cn (Zheng Zhang); zhangxiankun@ustb.edu.cn (Xiankun Zhang); yuezhang@ustb.edu.cn (Yue Zhang))

Received: 26 July 2025
Revised: 17 August 2025
Accepted: 19 August 2025

Abstract

Two-dimensional (2D) semiconductor-based junction field-effect transistors (JFETs) have emerged as vital architectures for next-generation low-power electronics due to their gate-dielectric-free structure and near-ideal subthreshold swing (SS) potential. Although doping strategies, such as defect engineering and chemical modification, can further enhance the performance of JFETs, complex techniques and uniformly-doping hinder their further applications. Here, we propose a low-power MoS₂/MoTe₂ JFET utilizing a pre-deposited Au film to dope the gate layer of MoTe₂, which can uniformly increase the work function of MoTe₂ and thus elevate heterostructure barrier heights. This method offers strong repeatability, avoids localized states on channel material, and is compatible with integrated circuit manufacturing. The JFETs achieve a near-ideal SS of 62.5 mV dec⁻¹, mobility of 350 cm² V⁻¹ s⁻¹, high current on/off ratio of 10⁷, low gate leakage of 10⁻¹² A, and low pinch-off voltage of −0.1 V. This strategy provides a universal and simple strategy for low-power circuits.