Synthesis of 2D MoS 2(1- x ) Se 2 x semiconductor alloy by chemical vapor deposition.

Alloying/doping in two-dimensional (2D) materials is emerging as an increasingly important strategy due to the wide-range bandgap tunability and versatility of these materials. Monolayer 2D transition metal dichalcogenide (TMD) alloy has been investigated both theoretically and experimentally in recent years. Here, we synthesized a bilayer MoS _{2(1- x )} Se _{2 x} semiconductor alloy via the chemical-vapor deposition technique. The as-grown triangular MoS _{2(1- x )} Se _{2 x} flakes with size of roughly 10 μm were observed by optical microscope and scanning electron microscope (SEM). The 1.4-1.9 nm thickness of the samples, as measured by AFM, means that bilayer MoS _{2(1- x )} Se _{2 x} alloys were grown. The characteristic Raman modes related to Mo-S and Mo-Se vibrations were observed in the Raman spectrum. Two emission peaks were respectively found, corresponding to the A and B excitons in the photoluminescence (PL) spectrum. XPS measurements confirmed the Se doping of the alloy. The first-principles calculation results show a contraction of the band gap value with the increase of Se doping in the MoS ₂ lattice. Compared with monolayer MoS _{2(1- x )} Se _{2 x} alloy, the band bending effect is more obvious, and the bilayer MoS _{2(1- x )} Se _{2 x} alloy still shows the direct band gap luminescence characteristic, which has certain guiding significance for the growth of two-dimensional materials and for device preparation.
Competing Interests: There are no conflicts to declare.
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