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 bandstructure. 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 thicknesses down to the ultimate atomic limit, providing the first demonstration of gate-induced 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 while decreasing their thickness. We find that the superconducting properties exhibit a pronounced reduction in TC and BC when going from bilayers to monolayers, for which we discuss possible microscopic mechanisms.