We demonstrated the top-gate transistors composed of monolayer MoS2 grown on three-layer alloys Mo xW1- xS2 prepared by sequential sulfurization of predeposited transition metal films. The elemental mapping of the alloy indicates a uniform distribution of both cations Mo and W in the grown samples. Surprisingly, we find that the drain current of transistors could be enhanced by 2 orders of magnitude as the composition of Mo increases, whereas the gate-controlled current modulation turns bipolar and ultimately vanishes. These features might originate from the formation of in-gap defect states, with modest activation energy for transport and moderate hopping probability for current conduction, or a reduced electronic band gap of the conducting channel because of strain.
Keywords: 2D material alloys; activation energy; heterostructures; hopping probability; strained 2D materials; top gates; transistors.