Gate-induced Superconductivity in atomically thin MoS2 crystals

Abstract

When thinned down to the atomic scale, many layered van der Waals materials exhibit an interesting evolution of their electronic properties, whose main aspects can be accounted for by changes in the single-particle band structure. Phenomena driven by interactions are also observed, but identifying experimentally systematic trends in their thickness dependence is challenging. Here, we explore the evolution of gate-induced superconductivity in exfoliated MoS2 multilayers ranging from bulk-like to individual monolayers. We observe a clear transition for all the thicknesses down to the ultimate atomic limit, providing the first demonstration of superconductivity in atomically thin exfoliated crystals. Additionally, we characterize the superconducting state by measuring the critical temperature (TC) and magnetic field (BC) in a large number of multilayer devices, upon decreasing their thickness. The superconducting properties change smoothly down to bilayers, and a pronounced reduction in TC and BC is found to occur when going from bilayers to monolayers, for which we discuss possible microscopic mechanisms. Finding that gate-induced superconductivity persists in individual monolayers, which form the basic building blocks of more sophisticated van der Waals heterostructures, opens new possibilities for the engineering of the electronic properties of materials at the atomic scale.