Systematic investigation of electrical contact barriers between different electrode metals and layered GeSe

For electronic and photoelectronic devices based on GeSe, an emergent two dimensional monochalcogenide with many exciting properties predicted, good electrical contacts are of great importance for achieving high device performances and exploring the intrinsic physics of GeSe. In this article, we use temperature-dependent transport measurements and thermionic emission theory for systematic investigation of the contact-barrier heights between GeSe and six common electrode metals, Al, Ag, Ti, Au, Pt, and Pd. These metals cover a wide range of work functions (from ∼3.6 eV to ∼5.7 eV). Our study indicates that Au forms the best contact with the valence band of GeSe even though Au does not possess the highest work function among the metals studied. This behavior clearly deviates from the expectation of Schottky-Mott theory and indicates the importance of the details at the interfaces between metals and GeSe.