Progress towards flexible, low-power transceivers based on MoS2

Scientists from RWTH Aachen University, AMO GmbH, EPFL and Aixtron SE have demonstrated the first power detectors based on Molybdenum  disulphide (MoS2) that operate at zero bias. The fabricated  circuits function in Ku-band  between  12  and  18GHz, and are the best-performing  power  detectors  fabricated  on  flexible  substrate  reported  to  date. Their dynamic range exceeds 30dB, outperforming   other semiconductor   technologies, like silicon complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS) circuits and GaAs Schottky diodes.

Power detectors are important building blocks of analog wireless-applications, such as radar systems, Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) transceivers, and mobile communications. Their functioning relies on the non-linear operation of a single field-effect transistor (FET). The newly published work reports the successful implementation of zero-bias RF power detectors based on two different MoS2 FETs with mono-and multilayer channel materials, both fabricated with a growth and fabrication technique suitable for large-scale manufacturing.

The results clearly indicate the potential of MoS2 FETs for realizing fully integrated, flexible, low-power transceivers. At the same time, the work also shows that some material-growth and device-processing parameters still need to be carefully tuned in order  to  allow  these  circuits to  meet  the rigorous reliability  requirements  of mass  production.

The work has been published open-access on Advanced Materials.

Bibliographic information
Zero Bias Power Detector Circuits based on MoS2 Field Effect Transistors on Wafer-Scale Flexible Substrates
E. Reato, P. Palacios, B. Uzlu, M. Saeed, A. Grundmann, Z. Wang, D. S. Schneider, Z. Wang, M. Heuken, H. Kalisch, A. Vescan, A. Radenovic, A. Kis, D. Neumaier, R. Negra, M. C. Lemme
Advanced Materials, Accepted Author Manuscript 2108469 (2022).
https://doi.org/10.1002/adma.202108469