Charge Effects on Semiconductor-Metal Phase Transition in Mono-layer MoTe2

Abstract

To understand the charge effects on semiconductor-metal phase transition in monolayer MoTe2, the modulations of phase transition energies with electrons and holes doping are studied by using the first principle calculation. It is found that the charge will make the total energy of the distorted metal phase lower than the semiconductor phase. Also, the barrier of phase transition from the semiconductor phase to the distorted metal phase can be decreased. Our results can well explain the experimentally observed resistance switching in MoTe2 layer, indicating that the charge doping can be an effective approach to control the phase switching in MoTe2 layer.