Perspective: Highly ordered MoS2 thin films grown by multi-step chemical vapor deposition process

Abstract

We established a process for growing highly ordered MoS2 thin films. The process consists of four steps: MoO3 thermal evaporation, first annealing, sulfurization, and second annealing. The main feature of this process is that thermally deposited MoO3 thin films are employed as a precursor for the MoS2 films. The first deposition step enabled us to achieve precise control of the resulting thickness of the MoS2 films with high uniformity. The crystalline structures, surface morphologies, and chemical states at each step were characterized by X-ray diffraction, atomic force microscopy, Raman spectroscopy, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. Based on these characterizations and a careful optimization of the growth conditions, we successfully produced a highly oriented MoS2 thin film with a thickness of five monolayers over an entire one-centimeter-square sapphire substrate.