Charge-transfer contacts for the measurement of correlated states in high-mobility WSe2

Two-dimensional semiconductors, such as transition metal dichalcogenides, have demonstrated tremendous promise for the development of highly tunable quantum devices. Realizing this potential requires low-resistance electrical contacts that perform well at low temperatures and low densities where quantum properties are relevant. Here we present a new device architecture for two-dimensional semiconductors that utilizes a charge-transfer layer to achieve large hole doping in the contact region, and implement this technique to measure the magnetotransport properties of high-purity monolayer WSe2. We measure a record-high hole mobility of 80,000 cm2 V–1 s–1 and access channel carrier densities as low as 1.6 × 1011 cm−2, an order of magnitude lower than previously achievable. Our ability to realize transparent contact to high-mobility devices at low density enables transport measurements of correlation-driven quantum phases including the observation of a low-temperature metal–insulator transition in a density and temperature regime where Wigner crystal formation is expected and the observation of the fractional quantum Hall effect under large magnetic fields. The charge-transfer contact scheme enables the discovery and manipulation of new quantum phenomena in two-dimensional semiconductors and their heterostructures. By utilizing the van der Waals electron acceptor α-RuCl3, this study establishes a p-type connection with WSe2, facilitating a high hole mobility of 80,000 cm2 V–1 s–1 for investigating quantum transport properties in a magnetic field of over 30 T.