Electro-Thermal Monte Carlo Simulation of Monolayer MoS₂

Two-dimensional (2D) transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDs) like monolayer MoS₂ have emerged as promising semiconductors for nanoscale electronics due to their good charge mobilities at small thicknesses compared to ultrathin silicon. However, to engineer high-performance 2D transistors, a detailed understanding of charge scattering and heat generation in TMDs is needed. Here, we employ Monte Carlo simulations to investigate charge transport in monolayer MoS₂ transistors with Joule heating for the first time. We simulate the electron drift in the MoS₂ transistor channel, accounting for electron-phonon scattering and Joule heating, and extract the steady-state temperature and electron drift velocity. These simulations highlight the important consequences of Joule heating on charge transport in monolayer MoS₂ and indicate that high-field measurements of TMD transistors must consider self-heating during analysis. These results can further be extended to other TMDs on various substrates as well as transient operation to understand and optimize future high-performance TMD devices.