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We report photoluminescence (PL) spectroscopy of air-suspended and substrate-supported molybdenum disulfide (MoS2) taken before and after exposure to proton radiation. For 2-, 3-, and 4-layer MoS2, the radiation causes a substantial (>10 x) suppression of the indirect bandgap emission, likely due to a radiation-induced decoupling of the layers. For all samples measured (including the monolayer), we see the emergence of a defect-induced shoulder peak at around 1.7 eV, which is redshifted from the main direct bandgap emission at 1.85 eV. Here, defects induced by the radiation trap the excitons and cause them to be redshifted from the main direct band emission. After annealing, the defect-induced sideband disappears, but the indirect band emission remains suppressed, indicating a permanent transition into a direct bandgap material. While suspended 2-, 3-, and 4-layer MoS2 show no change in the intensity of the direct band emission after radiation exposure, substrate-supported MoS2 exhibits an approximately 2-fold increase in the direct bandgap emission after irradiation. Suspended monolayer MoS2 shows a 2–3 x drop in PL intensity; however, substrate-supported monolayer MoS2 shows a 2-fold increase in the direct band emission. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Small diameter single wall carbon nanotubes are desirable for various physical and electrical properties of carbon nanotubes. Here, we report the sensitivities of parameters and the optimal conditions for small diameter carbon nanotube growth by chemical vapor deposition (CVD). These results were obtained using the Taguchi method, which is commonly used to find the optimal parameters of various processes. The possible parameter ranges given by the experimental equipment and laboratory conditions, we attempted several times to determine the proper ranges, using photoluminescence (PL) imaging to determine the exact positions of suspended carbon nanotubes on the quartz substrates after synthesis. The diameters of the carbon nanotubes were then determined from the radial breathing modes (RBM) using Raman spectroscopy with a 785nm wavelength laser. Among the 4 major parameters listed above, we concluded that the temperature was the most significant parameter in determining carbon nanotube diameter, hydrogen flow rate was the second most significant, the ethanol and argon gas flow rate was the third, and finally time was the least significant factor. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]