Abstract Memristors as non-volatile memory devices have gained numerous attentions owing to their advantages in storage, in-memory computing, synaptic applications, etc. In recent years, two-dimensional (2D) materials with moderate defects have been discovered to exist memristive feature. However, it is very difficult to obtain moderate defect degree in 2D materials, and studied on modulation means and mechanism becomes urgent and essential. In this work, we realized memristive feature with a bipolar switching and a configurable on/off ratio in a two-terminal MoS 2 device (on/off ratio ~100), for the first time, from absent to present using laser-modulation to few-layer defect-free MoS 2 (about 10 layers), and its retention time in both high resistance state and low resistance state can reach 2 × 10 4 s. The mechanism of the laser-induced memristive feature has been cleared by dynamic Monte Carlo simulations and first-principles calculations. Furthermore, we verified the universality of the laser-modulation by investigating other 2D materials of TMDs. Our work will open a route to modulate and optimize the performance of 2D semiconductor memristive devices.

Memristive feature and mechanism induced by laser-doping in defect-free 2D semiconductor materials