Field-effect transistors with weakly coupled layered inorganic semiconductors

An apparatus, comprising

• a field-effect transistor, the transistor comprising:
• source, drain, and gate electrodes;
• a layer of inorganic semiconductor physically extending between the source electrode and the drain electrode, the inorganic semiconductor comprising a compound selected from the group consisting of a metal dichalcogenide, a metal halide, and a bivalent metal hydroxide;
• and
• a dielectric layer interposed between the gate electrode and the layer of inorganic semiconductor material, the gate electrode is configured to control a conductivity of an active channel part of the layer of inorganic semiconductor.

A method of fabricating a field-effect transistor, comprising:

• providing a layer of a crystalline or polycrystalline inorganic semiconductor, the semiconductor comprising a stack of 2-dimensional layers in which intra-layer bonding forces are covalent and/or ionic, adjacent ones of the layers being bonded together by van der Waals forces;
• forming source and drain electrodes, an active channel portion of the layer of semiconductor extending from the source electrode to the drain electrode;
• forming a layer of dielectric;
• and
• forming a gate electrode, the gate electrode being in contact with the layer of dielectric and being able to change the conductivity of the channel, the layer of dielectric being interposed between the gate electrode and the active channel.