Negative to positive crossover of the magnetoresistance in layered WS₂

The discovery of graphene ignited intensive investigation of two-dimensional materials. A typical two-dimensional material, transition metal dichalcogenide (TMDC), attracts much attention because of its excellent performance in field effect transistor measurements and applications. Particularly, when TMDC reaches the dimension of a few layers, a wide range of electronic and optical properties can be detected that are in striking contrast to bulk samples. In this letter, we synthesized WS₂ single-crystal nanoflakes using physical vapor deposition and carried out a series of measurements of the contact resistance and magnetoresistance. Focused ion beam (FIB) technology was applied to deposit Pt electrodes on the WS₂ flakes, and the FIB-deposited contacts exhibited linear electrical characteristics. Resistance versus temperature measurements showed similar Mott variable range hopping behavior in different magnetic fields. Additionally, a temperature-modulated negative-to-positive magnetoresistance transition was observed. Our work reveals the magnetotransport characteristics of WS₂ flakes, which may stimulate further studies of the properties of TMDC and its corresponding electronic and optoelectronic applications.