Triboiontronic Transistor of MoS ₂

Electric double layers (EDLs) formed in electrolyte-gated field-effect transistors (FETs) induce an extremely large local electric field that gives a highly efficient charge carrier control in the semiconductor channel. To achieve highly efficient triboelectric potential gating on the FET and explore diversified applications of electric double layer FETs (EDL-FETs), a triboiontronic transistor is proposed to bridge triboelectric potential modulation and ion-controlled semiconductor devices. Utilizing the triboelectric potential instead of applying an external gate voltage, the triboiontronic MoS ₂ transistor is efficiently operated owing to the formation of EDLs in the ion-gel dielectric layer. The operation mechanism of the triboiontronic transistor is proposed, and high current on/off ratio over 10 ⁷ , low threshold value (75 μm), and steep switching properties (20 µm dec ⁻¹ ) are achieved. A triboiontronic logic inverter with desirable gain (8.3 V mm ⁻¹ ), low power consumption, and high stability is also demonstrated. This work presents a low-power-consuming, active, and a general approach to efficiently modulate semiconductor devices through mechanical instructions, which has great potential in human–machine interaction, electronic skin, and intelligent wearable devices. The proposed triboiontronics utilize ion migration and arrangement triggered by mechanical stimuli to control electronic properties, which are ready to deliver new interdisciplinary research directions.