Two-dimensional (2D) semimetals beyond graphene have been relatively unexplored in the atomically-thin limit. Here we introduce a facile growth mechanism for semimetallic WTe2 crystals, then fabricate few-layer test structures while carefully avoiding degradation from exposure to air. Low-field electrical measurements of 80 nm to 2 um long devices allow us to separate intrinsic and contact resistance, revealing metallic response in the thinnest encapsulated and stable WTe2 devices studied to date (3 to 20 layers thick). High-field electrical measurements and electro-thermal modeling demonstrate that ultra-thin WTe2 can carry remarkably high current density (approaching 50 MA/cm2, higher than most common interconnect metals) despite a very low thermal conductivity (of the order ~3 W/m/K). These results suggest several pathways for air-stable technological viability of this layered semimetal.
@article{arxiv.1608.00988,
title = {High Current Density and Low Thermal Conductivity of Atomically Thin Semimetallic WTe2},
author = {Michal J. Mleczko and Runjie and Xu and Kye Okabe and Hsueh-Hui Kuo and Ian R. Fisher and H. -S. Philip Wong and Yoshio Nishi and Eric Pop},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:1608.00988},
year = {2016}
}