Non-technical: The PI has coined the name Phosphorene for a new 2D single-layer material derived from black phosphorus. Phosphorene, unlike graphene, has an inherent, direct and appreciable bandgap and, unlike MoS2 or other transition-metal dichalcogenides, can have carrier mobility on the order of 10,000 cm2/Vs. Thus, phosphorene can potentially overcome the challenges of all other 2D materials for ultra-scaled thin-body transistor applications thereby transforming the electronics industry. His group is the first in the world to successfully exfoliate single-layer phosphorene from black phosphorus and to demonstrate promising transistor performance on few-layer phosphorene. Since the PIs initial work, there is a great deal of interest that has been generated on exploring the properties and applications of phosphorene. In this EAGER project, the PI will focus on the exploration of phosphorene by exfoliation and investigate the electrical properties and device integration aspects of the research.
Being the only other elemental material that can be exfoliated like graphene and with an inherent, direct and appreciable bandgap and high carrier mobility, phosphorene represents a unique opportunity as the basic material for next generation devices. The PI's initial exploration through exfoliation will guide the development for high-quality, defect-free materials and processes that enable safe and easy integration into device architectures. Additionally, the highly puckered structure of phosphorene dictates that each single layer comprises two tightly bonded atomic layers a property that can be exploited to develop a large-scale vapor-phase-deposition manufacturing process in future. The puckered structure also makes phosphorene highly anisotropic a property that can be exploited for electrothermal applications. To reduce the environmental sensitivity of phosphorene and to explore other novel architectures and properties, heterojunctions between phosphorene and graphene, h-BN, MoS2, or other chalcogenides and oxides will be explored. For example, unlike most other 2D materials, phosphorene is naturally p-type, and p-type phosphorene transistors can be combined with n-type MoS2 transistors to form energy-efficient CMOS circuits and 2D tunneling field-effect transistors. The PI will not only promote diversity in the human resources engaged in the proposed project, but will also expand on the diversity of thought, ideas, and approaches in defining and solving important research questions concerning phosphorene. The PI is committed to integrating research and education, and has detailed plans to enhance diversity in engineering. The PI plans to integrate research with curriculum development on 2D materials and devices to broaden the impact of the research.
