Correlation Between Corrugation-Induced Flexoelectric Polarization and Conductivity of Low-Dimensional Transition Metal Dichalcogenides

Tunability of polar and semiconducting properties of low-dimensional transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDs) have propelled them to the forefront of fundamental and applied physical research. These materials can vary from non-polar to ferroelectric, and from direct-band semiconductor to metallic. However, in addition to classical controls such as composition, doping, and field effect in TMDs the additional degrees of freedom emerge due to the curvature-induced electron redistribution and associated changes in electronic properties. Here we numerically explore the elastic and electric fields, flexoelectric polarization and free charge density for a TMD nanoflake placed on a rough substrate with a sinusoidal profile of the corrugation using finite element modelling (FEM). Numerical results for different flake thickness and corrugation depth yield insight into the flexoelectric nature of the out-of-plane electric polarization and establish the unambiguous correlation between the polarization and static conductivity modulation caused by inhomogeneous elastic strains coupled with deformation potential and strain gradients, which evolve in TMD nanoflake due to the adhesion between the flake surface and corrugated substrate. We revealed a pronounced maximum at the thickness dependences of the electron and hole conductivity of MoS2 and MoTe2 nanoflakes placed on a metallic substrate, which opens the way for their geometry optimization towards significant improvement their polar and electronic properties, necessary for their advanced applications in nanoelectronics and memory devices.